Flint and Steel
by LoveMommaBadger
Summary: Life after the war had been everything Hermione had dreamed it would be, she has a promising career, she has her parents back, and she is still close to her best friends. The only thing she didn't have was a love life, but when her Hogwarts nemesis waltzes back in her life and tells his side of the story her entire perspective is thrown off and now she feels things she shouldn't.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Draco felt his mothers hand clench in his as she gently leaned into him, as they watched Lucius finally interred with the other generations of Malfoy heirs in the mausoleum. Draco knew his mothers flawless facade wavered, she was a Malfoy however, she was not entitled such weaknesses among the pureblood social elites. Draco squeezed her hand back, this was why he had come, his mother was swimming with sharks in her weakest moment. Why she felt remorse for the man that had been cruel to her and Draco (both emotionally and physically), as well as offered them to Voldemort, Draco couldn't fathom. Maybe Draco could forgive the abuse with years and years of therapy, but he felt he could never forgive his sire for bowing down to a Half blooded hypocrite. He would never understand why Lucius forced him and his mother to submit to the red-eyed asshole. It was a father's job to protect his family but Lucius coerced his family into the bloody cult, and demanded they serve his "Lord". It took all Draco had not to spit on the mans coffin, that's how much he came to loath him. Yet here he was, the perfect pureblood heir attending his sire's funeral, surrounded by all the other self entitled pureblood families who only came to maintain their status in the hierarchy.

As if any of that bullshit mattered anymore since Voldemort's fall. The purebloods still clung to it however, still maintaining that they are still superior to those without the long established in-breeding that supposedly kept their blood clean. It infuriated Draco, he thought after Voldemort's defeat by the half blood wonder boy and his muggleborn friend, the pureblood families would change their opinion on the matter. In fact the pureblood that was associated in the "Golden Trio" was arguably the least talented of the three and the biggest fucking git in the world.

Draco leaned over and delicately kissed his mother on the head, "I'm going to go for a turn around the garden" he muttered into his mothers platinum hair, as the pure-bloods began to swarm them to offer condolences. Draco had no need to commiserate that arrogant, prejudiced bastard, and he was pretty sure that laughing in their face when they offered, _I'm so sorry for your loss,_ or _he was truly a great man_ , would be taken poorly.

It was late spring and Malfoy gardens were full of blossoms and earthly floral smells that wafted delicately on the breeze. Though he would never admit it openly, there was something nice about this time of year, when the earth came back to life after long cold winters. It reminded him very much of his time spent abroad after he graduated. Draco was sentenced to an eighth year at Hogwarts after Voldy's death, the minster thought that sending him back to finish his NEWTS would help the boy get his life back on track. Shackelbolt also required him to take muggle studies with the other Death Eater youths, begrudgingly Draco did find the class enlightening. It didn't take much for him and his classmates to realize that they had been essentially brainwashed by their parents and their lineage. They were introduced to muggle science, literature, and history , the leaps and bounds that muggles took to form the world around them were truly amazing. After they graduated, it was announced that the class would become mandatory for all students up through the fourth year, because as Headmistress McGonagall said, "knowledge and acceptance would be the only way to stop the discriminatory hate that festers between us".

When he left Hogwarts Draco decided to travel, he mostly backpacked around Europe, riding lots of muggle transportation and staying with muggle and magical families. He wanted to live without the convenience of money, he wanted earn his way, so he found small jobs here and there, to pay for his accommodations and food. He just lived. He lived without the expectations of home, family loyalties or duties. He didn't fret if he would be killed by a maniac or worry that his mother would be abused, his most pending issues were where he would stay and eat from month to month. These travels also enlightened him, he met people from all walks of life, from people who were well to do in Paris, to a family with very little in Spain. It seemed to him that some of the happiest people that he had met, were also some of the poorest. Draco could almost feel the humid air on his skin as he reminisced about Spain.

 _The Barcelonan night had been hot and humid and people were flooded the streets for supper as Draco sat with the flatmates that had rented him a room during his stay. The old man down the hall from them had captured Draco in a very broken English conversation. "Is it like this all the time?" Draco wondered it was a Tuesday evening and the streets were full of people drinking merrily. "Doesn't anyone work tomorrow? Are they not worried about hangover?"_

 _The portly Spaniard chortled, his laugh lines and crows feet deepening, he had clearly lived very long happy life. "that es tomorrow issue, tonight we drink, we laugh, we 'appy." He then leaned over and filled Draco's glass with more Sangria._

That was a big revelation for him, Draco did not remember much after that conversation, (because a lovely Spanish girl plopped herself in his lap and applied him with copious booze) but the words lingered in his head for days. Could life really be that simple? Live for today? Live for now?

It was there in Spain that Draco had received an owl from his mother, informing him that Lucius had finally been found dead in his cell at Azkaban. While Draco knew his mother would not demand his presence at Lucius' funeral, he felt an obligation to his mother to return to support her through the loss of her husband. Draco was pretty sure that Stockholm Syndrome was the reasoning for her grief, because there was no way his beautiful, graceful, elegant mother could love such a monster, although, she still somehow managed to love Draco.

"Draco!" Called a female voice which was vaguely familiar.

Draco stopped took a deep breath and turned around to see who called him, briskly trying to catch up to him was Pansy Parkinson. Draco figured she would be here, his mother had told him that funerals had become a new way for pureblood families to match make their heirs. Though since the Ministry outlawed marriages closer then second cousins, it was becoming harder and harder for purebloods to keep clean, and families were getting desperate. "Pans" he said in even tone.

Pansy caught up, and looked at him "I heard you were back in country." She looked at him with a smirk that all Slytherin's mastered by their second year at Hogwarts.

He proceeded forward, not looking at her keeping his stony glare ahead of him. "Yes, flooed in yesterday."

Pansy watched him carefully noting that he hadn't actually looked her in the eye yet. "You were traveling, your mother said?"

"Yes, it's typically what one does when they leave the country" he said coolly still not looking at her.

Pansy eyes narrowed, She wasn't sure why he was giving her the cold shoulder but she wouldn't put up with it. "Look, if you want to be a prick go ahead. I just wanted to see you again since you left so abruptly last time" she sneered at him.

He shrugged. "You came, you saw," he said shortly.

Pansy jumped in front of him and stopped him with her hand. "What's your problem, Malfoy? Someone shove a wand up your ass while you were gone?"

Draco stopped and finally looked down at her. "Look, I'm just over this self-entitled pureblood bullshit that everyone is still spewing, for some reason."

"And you think I'm not?" she spat at him "My mother has tried to sell me off like some horse at least six times since you left, all to old gits who need erection spells to get hard."

Draco considered her for a moment, "So you're not throwing yourself at me to prevent your exchange to an old bat."

Pansy scoffed. "Look, I've got myself a half blood who truly loves me, but we're waiting until my mother goes senile or dies so I don't lose my inheritance."

Draco rolled his eyes. "How romantic, looks like your going to be waiting a long time."

Pansy moved back to his side and they started strolling again. "Honestly, I'm betting on senile first. My mother has always been insane, so senile can't be far off. One of the benefits of keeping it in the family I guess," she laughed to herself.

"You know that means that you're likely to be crazy too, 'cause, you know, genetics," he smirked.

Pansy smacked his arm and then crossed her arms. "Yeah, well, hopefully I won't pass it on to my kids. I've already made sure that I have no familial connection to Matthew."

"Matthew?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't know him. He's an American diplomat that I met working at the Ministry. I work in Foreign Affairs now."

"I see." Draco paused for a moment. "So tell me then, are things really changing? Because from my understanding, it's still the same shit, different show"

Pansy smirked again, this time looking down at her feet, letting out a sigh and looking up once more. "I think in our generation, yes it's changed, many of us lost family and friends to either death or Azkaban, we are just done with old traditions. Our parents however, they seem stuck still, which puts us in positions to lose our inheritances. Nott was thrown out when his father found out he had been sleeping with a muggleborn. He stayed with Zabini until his father was thrown in to Azkaban, and had to forfeit his wealth, which Theo just took over again, so that worked out well. But that was a special case, Greengrass was disinherited when she ran off with some halfblood from Hufflepuff."

Draco scoffed this time. "Well, I don't think she was suppose to be a Slytherin, I think she chose that to keep her parents happy. She was always too sweet to be one of us."

Pansy nodded slowly. "Isn't it sad that we were worried that our parents would be mad if we were sorted in to anything but Slytherin? I mean, how messed up is that?"

Draco looked down at his feet. "Yes, it is. Being a pureblood heir is horrible. My dad disciplined me for being second to Granger in school rankings. Not congratulations for being second in your class, but a back hand to the face for letting a muggleborn beat me."

Pansy shook her head. "Sounds pretty normal to me. What I wouldn't give to be born in to a non-pure family. I could marry who I want, do what I want, be who I want. Those twats have it so easy."

* * *

Hermione's eyes glazed over as she read the same sentence for the fifth time, she leaned back in her chair and ran her hands through her curls, betting to herself what time it was. She sighed and looked at her watch, 12:15am. She exhaled loudly feeling her chest collapse under the stress of the day, she arrived at the Ministry at eight-thirty that morning, as she did every morning, even though none of her co-workers would be there until nine. Hermione had always been like this, always early, always working harder then her peers to achieve excellence in her work. She smirked it was no wonder she had no social life to truly speak of outside of work, the Weasley's or the Potters. Ron always complained she worked to hard and never had time for him, and that very reason led to the demise of their romantic relationship.

She leaned forward, marked her spot on the paper work, shuffled some files on her desk in an orderly fashion, and stood up to leave, flicking her wand to turn of the light in her office. The Ministry was silent, the only sound was of her heels clicking the marble floors. There was something calming to her about the ministry when it was vacant, almost as if she could feel the building itself give a sigh of relief before the onslaught of chaos that would happen again tomorrow. She smiled meekly to herself as she approached the floo network and grabbed some powder and called out home, and with a whirl of green flames she felt herself almost fly into her own fire place.

Immediately Crookshanks jumped off the lounge, and started making circles around her feet. " I know Crooks, I'm sorry, I got caught up again" The cats big round amber eyes glared at her as he gave his tail an irradiated twitch and mewed at her, demanding his dinner. Hermione leaned down and gave the cat a pet, and he nuzzled her shins. She stumbled over him in to the kitchen and grabbed his dish and scooped some dry food out of the bag and in to his bowl. As Crookshanks starting eagerly eating his food, Hermione perused her kitchen for a late night snack. She had a brief dinner that evening and knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with her stomach rumbling at her. She settled on an apple, sliced it up and dipped it in some peanut butter. When she finished her midnight snack, the witch headed for bed, Crooks following behind. She started her usual evening routine, brushing her teeth, then her hair, slipping into an oversize tee-shirt and crawling into bed. She flicked her wand once again and her room fell into darkness, she breathed deeply and tried to relax her mind.

Relax, however, was the last thing her mind wanted to do. So much had changed over the last four years since Voldemort's defeat. She and the most of the her classmates from her year had been able to retake their seventh year at Hogwarts in order to sit their NEWTs. Harry and Ron had returned as well, both of them wanted to become Aurors, and while it seemed like they had a shoe in for the program, they still needef to achieve proper NEWTS, much to Ron's dismay. Harry, however, was not so upset, seeing as Ginny was there for her seventh year too. It was the first year, that Hermione actually felt she could enjoy her education without some dark looming force hanging over them.

" _Ronald Weasley, give me my book back right this moment!"_ the memory of her, Harry, Ginny and Ron basking under the rare spring sun, during their final year at Hogwarts swam in front of her eyes.

" _Come on Mione, NEWTS aren't for another month! Just enjoy the good weather!" Ron begged, holding her Potions books over his head while they sat under the birch tree next to the lake._

 _Hermione crawled over Ron to get to her book. "Yes, Ron I know, and I need to review that book one more time before then!"_

 _Ron wrapped his free arm around her waist, dropped the book and rolled them over with his body over hers, he then kissed her soft and sweetly. Hermione couldn't help but laugh as her friends protested the PDA._

So much of her childhood had been wrapped up in avoiding one danger or another, living without an impending doom felt foreign, like she was living someone else life. She relished her final year at Hogwarts, for the first time in what felt like forever, she was allowed to be _young_ , she smiled to herself at the thought of that.

After she had obtained O's in every subject she took, Hermione left Hogwarts for the last time. _Tears welling up in her eyes Hermione looked over the grounds just outside of the gates._

" _Only you would cry about leaving school." Ron teased standing next to her his hands casually in his pockets._

" _Oh, Ron you don't get it. Everything changes now, we will probably never see most these people again. We grew up here, we lost people here..." Her voice thick with remorse._

 _Ron wrapped an arm around Hermione pulling her close into him and giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I know, but change can be good, we can start_ our _own life now."_

Walking away from those gates almost felt like the ending of a book that she would only be able to read once, yes she would always have memories, but with time they would fade, as all memories do. Time would chisel away at the years she spent there, and for that reason she grieved for Hogwarts, or at least the time she spent there.

Shortly after they graduated, Ron and Hermione moved in together. _She followed Ron up to their new apartment which she hadn't actually seen yet, she had been so busy with her internship with the ministry Ron had to find them somewhere to live, though Hermione was sure that Harry had a heavy helping hand. Ron stopped at a door nervously playing with the keys. "Are you sure you're ready?"_

 _Hermione chuckled. "Ron, it's just an apartment it's not like it's forever." She smiled and pecked him on the lips. "Besides now that means we don't have to sneak around in empty rooms and corridors anymore."_

 _Ron smiled and turned around to unlock the door, he took her hand pulled her in to a narrow hallway. "So here on the left is the kitchen." Hermione looked through the small arch to find a small galley kitchen with a small dinette at the back of the room. Ron let go of her hand as she was noting the cobalt blue counter tops, wondering how much she would have to clean before they could actually move stuff in. She instinctively followed his voice down the hall. "And here to the right is the living room." Hermione stepped through the next arch way her breath taken away as she saw all of the Weasely's, Harry and her parents standing in a half circle around Ron who was kneeling down on one knee with a ring box in his hands. "Hermione Jean Granger, marry me."_

 _Hermione's hand clasped over her mouth and tears ran down her cheeks. "Yes!" She screamed throwing herself on to Ron as the room filled with cheers and applause._

Hermione could almost feel the tear welling up in her eyes again as she recalled this memory. In that moment, she thought that was it, her entire world, life, and all the love she had, was standing there in that room. She wanted so so badly for her and Ron to end up married, living happily ever after like all the fairy tail books she had read as a girl, she wanted to be content with him raising a family as Molly did.

Deep down inside though, she knew it wouldn't work, and as time rolled by and Hermione kept pushing off the wedding for this work promotion, or that project, Ron became more and more impatient. They started fighting all the time, he wanted her home, he wanted her to settle down, to marry him and have kids.

 _When Hermione stepped through the fireplace in their apartment she was shrouded in darkness, she had a very long day at the Ministry and was getting home late again, and she expected Ron would be asleep already. Her breath hitched as she saw movement out the coroner of her eyes, and she let out a relived sigh as her eyes adjusted and she saw Ron sitting on the lounger, sipping his whiskey. "I'm done, I'm sorry." His voice dejected and defeated._

 _Hermione's breath caught again and tears started to tumble form her eyes, as her heart shattered, but she slowly nodded. "Okay." Tears fell like rain from her eyes as she looked down. "Ron, I..I..I'm so sorry." She choked._

 _Ron stood up and moved towards her, embracing her tightly as she cried into his chest some rouge tears escaping from him. "I know Mione, I know. Me too."_

She had known it wouldn't work, and they just accepted defeat for what it was, they weren't good for each other. She knew Ron had felt too, but he desperately clung to the idea of her because its what he thought should happen, because everyone told them they were so perfect for each other. People telling you, however, is never enough for a relationship. So that night he packed up his things and left for the Burrow.

They promised each other that this wouldn't come between their friendship and that they still loved each other platonically. It was awkward for a few months, the first Weasley Sunday Brunch Hermione went to after the break up was uncomfortable to say in the least. The rest of the Weasley family walked on eggshells waiting for the two to have a row, however they remained civil. It took a few more Sunday Brunches for Ron and her to be on friendly terms again. Now two years later Ron and Hermione joked about their former love life and Ron had a wonderful girl he met through the Auror office that simply hung off his every word. Hermione liked Sara for Ron, she was feisty, but kind, they shared the same sense of humor, and yet she had no problem mothering Ron in the way he so needed to be loved, most importantly though, she wanted to have a heap of kids and be at home to raise them.

Hermione, however hadn't found anyone, she spoke to many many men at the Ministry everyday, pushing files here, or signing paper work there, but honestly she was far to busy in her work to even acknowledge men when they did try to flirt with her. It certainly wasn't for lack of beauty that Hermione remained single. In fact she had been on the the short list twice in the past two years for witch weekly's most attractive single ladies. When journalist asked her for an interview and a photo shoot, Hermione laughed the poor witch out the door. Being famous for her role in the defeat of Voldemort had put Hermione in a very uncomfortable spot light, one that she tried desperately to avoid, and yet somehow her face still landed in the prophet on a regular basis. Much to her frustration, it was never for her accomplishments at the Department of Magical Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but rather, who she was seen with, or what she had been wearing at whatever gala, ball or fundraiser she attend.

At this point in her life Hermione had no interest in a love life, and she didn't see herself falling in love anytime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hermione woke up the next morning grateful it was Saturday, she stretched slowly letting the morning sun dance across her skin. Crookshanks stirred next to her feet and slowly extended his paws froward, in one of those odd cat poses where half of his body reached one way and the other twisted in the opposite direction. Hermione giggled at the strange cat and gave him a few strokes before pushing her covers off, making her bed and then started getting ready for the day. She loved morning showers to invigorate her, the warm water flowing down her skin, as her shampoo, conditioner, and soaps filled the area with soft floral and sandalwood scents. Hermione didn't care for smelling like she walked out of the fruit isle or took a swim in candy or pastries, no, she preferred warm floral scents, she liked the earthy smells of woods and spices. She almost envied mens cologne, they always sent her senses in to a sweet bliss, although that was the point of such products.

Once she finished her shower she quickly put on some clothes, took care of her hair and teeth and then went the kitchen to get a light breakfast and some tea only to settle herself on the floor. Spread out in front of her were files, she wanted to make more headway on the _Fair Treatment of House Elves Decree_ that she was currently trying to push up the Ministry. Many rich families still had house elves, only a handful of homes had chosen to free their elves free, even though the purchase and selling of house elves had been outlawed. The loop hole however was that they could be given as gifts, the claim being that elves were the same as giving your child a cat or a owl. Hermione's bill focused on the trade and gifting of creatures with a high enough intelligence to communicate. This was always the hardest part of her job, Hermione always believed in following the rules, or the rules that the rules implied. The latter part seemed to be what people manipulated to circumvent the laws. She, for the life of her, couldn't understand why people thought that they better then the rules and implications, or thought the rules simply did not apply to them. She had been told over and over again by many wealthy entitled purebloods, _My family goes back_ blah blah, _this is how it has always been,_ blah blah, _do you expect me to clean my own,_ blah blah blah. She sneered at the thought of one woman in particular last Thursday who complained to her for at least an hour the injustices of doing her own laundry.

The rest of her Saturday went as most of Saturdays did she worked most of the day, then in the early evening she ventured down to the local market picked up some foods and necessitates for the upcoming week. She walked home, back cooked herself dinner and then since the weather had been particularly nice that evening she decieded to take a per-dusk walk to enjoy the evening air and watch as her little neighborhood came to life. Children played in the streets, families gathered for various reasons and she watched them live their lives. Something not even five years ago lay in a precarious balance, if for no other reason, this was worth the night terrors and panic attacks that she suffered post war. Even if none of her muggle neighbors knew the sacrifices that so many people made, herself included, the fact they they were able to go on living their simple war free lives was enough for Hermione.

She could feel the night air slowly sinking around her as she turned down her street. She looked up at the stars, though with the light pollution of London you couldn't see most of them, that was one of the things she missed about Hogwarts. The stars has always been so so beautiful out there. She strolled through her little gate up the walk and unlocked her door and went upstairs to bed, tomorrow she could go to brunch at the Weasley's which means she would need plenty of energy.

* * *

Draco awoke late the next morning recovering from a night of drinking after the burial. He and a few of the other pureblood heirs decided that standing around and reminiscing sounded rather dull, and thought hitting the pubs sounded like a far better way to spend their Friday night. They ended up staying out until unreasonable hours of the morning and only went home because the pubs stopped severing them alcohol. It was nice to get out and have a bit of fun, Draco had been feeling a dark cloud hanging over him since Lucius passing, why he wasn't sure, but he was doing everything he could to repress the feeling.

A loud snap cracked through the room, "Good morning Master Draco, Nibsy, has brought you some hangover potion, as master Draco asked Nibsy to bring him the potion last night sir." The house elf grinned form ear to ear, his squeaky voice, far too chipper for Draco's throbbing headache.

Draco shielded his eyes as he heard Nibsy place the potion by his bedside then trot to the window to draw the drapes. "Thank you, Nibsy," he grunted as the sun shown brightly through the window, also thanking his drunk self for the foresight that he would desperately want that potion. Draco sat up on his forearms grabbed the potion and drank it swiftly, though the taste of old leather and tomatoes itself was enough to sober one up. He gave the vial back to the house elf and laid down for a moment to allow the potion to take affect. A few minutes passed and he felt his headache coming to an ease and felt his queasy stomach calm. Once he was sure that the potion had it full effect he very slowly stood up and walked in to his en-suit to take a shower and begin his day.

Properly dressed and groomed, Draco left his room at half past eleven to find his mother sitting in the drawing room. "Good morning, Mother" he greeted her with a small kiss to the cheek and sat down in the winged chair across from her. Instantly with pop another house elf appeared with a tea cup and saucer for Draco, also replenishing the biscuits. Draco nodded and with a pop the house elf was gone and Draco was pouring himself his tea.

"Good morning Draco, it is so kind of you to finally arouse yourself. I was beginning to wonder if you would grace me with your presence today." She delicately took a sipped her tea her blue eyes surveying her son carefully.

"Of course I would grace you with my presence, Mother, who else would I grace it with" he said in a nonchalant tone. Sipping his tea and meeting her eyes, he knew she was irritated, but she didn't look overly upset, so it seemed she was just mildly annoyed. "So do tell me, how did the wake go?"

She glared as her son clearly mad that he didn't attend his fathers wake. "If you had stayed, you wouldn't have to ask," she said crisply.

"Ah, well, yes that is true, but you and I both know that there was nothing about father I wished to honor, so it seemed far better that I remove my ill will from his wake." Draco placed his tea on the table between them.

"Such a shame, Draco. Your father while he was not a perfect man, did very much love the both of us, even if his decisions did not necessarily reflect that," she reminded him coolly, not wanting to practically fight with her only son two days after he got back form his three year journey around the world.

Draco muttered something under his breath, as he leaned back in his chair crossing his legs and folding his hands in front of him. "If you say so," he conceded. "Now what's for lunch? Do you have anything in particular that you wish to do today?"

Narcissa carefully looked over her son, acquiescing was not something Draco did very well, perhaps his worldly travels did help him mature, at least in the way of correctly picking his battles. She arched an eyebrow at him, "Well it would be nice to hear of your travels, it seems they may have done you some good." She gracefully sipped her tea.

Draco smirked at his mother. "I traveled, what else can I say?" He ran a hand through is platinum hair. He had let it grow out giving him a more roguish appearance, which seemed to attract women within a hundred meter radius.

"Come now, Draco, do tell," irritation raising in her voice again.

Draco leaned forward to pick up his tea once more and took a sip. "Well I started off in Paris, I took the muggle bullet train to get there, muggles are very very adept in travel, this train can move at 175 kilometers an hour. I learned of it in my muggles studies. After I arrived in Pairs I met some of your friends who were glad to host me."

"Yes I heard, Mrs. Boudreaux wouldn't stop gushing over how lovely you were when she came for a visit two summers ago." She eyed him carefully "She also said that Aimee was quite taken with you."

If Draco was abashed by her comment he skillfully played it off "Yes, Aimee is a very endearing young lady," _more so with her clothes off._ "I stayed a few weeks with the Boudreaux's, and then from Paris to Brussels taking the bullet train again"

"Do we know anyone in Brussels?" Narcissa inquired.

"No, but the point of the journey was to explore, and that meant going where I didn't know people." Draco knew his mother would be apprehensive with him meeting strangers and staying in random places, so he redirected the conversation again. "From Brussels to Cologne, then I traveled from town to town in Germany, it took some practice but I became very good at the translation spell. Then from Germany I went through Switzerland, I didn't much time in there, because Blaise wanted me to meet him Italy, I apparated and met him at his villa in Venice, where we stayed until the new year. After that he suggested we go to Greece, apparently his family own a place in Santorini. So we spent another month or two there and then I insisted that I go at it alone again, though it pained me to leave Greece. So I took off for Istanbul, taking a lot of ferries and boats to get there and somehow managed to find a wizard who was kind enough to let me use his floo, he sent me to their Diagon alley so that worked out perfectly, because then I was just able to floo from one Wizarding community to another, which allowed me to see Jerusalem and Egypt I spent about two months in both. Then I went to Casablanca for another two months an finally wound up in Spain. Spain was easily my favorite, I spent six months there before you owled me."

Narcissa nodded. "It sounds like you had quite an extravagant trip." She sipped her tea carefully. "Do you intend on staying here for some time then?" She asked hoping her son was done with his pilgrimage.

He smiled in to his tea. "Yes, mother, I do intend on staying here for the time being. I need you to understand that after the war I just needed to get away from everything. I spent the better part of my last year at Hogwarts ignored by everyone else."

Narcissa bristled. "I do in fact understand, Draco, I was a pariah after the war as well, many of our social circle blamed me for their family and friends being sent to Azkaban. Yet I chose to stay here and not run off." She spat at him.

Draco sighed. "I didn't mean you didn't struggle too, mother. I just.."

Narcissa cut him off. "You just left your mother to clean up the disaster that your father left." With that said she put down her tea stood up and walked away from him, stopping just before she left the room. "I'm meeting with Portia Zabini tomorrow for lunch in Daigon Alley, she's bringing Blaise and I expect you to come" she said over her shoulder and then swiftly left the room.

Draco smiled. His mother hadn't lost her touch.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hermione breathed in the cool crisp Sunday morning air, she smiled as the familiar smell of the burrow filled her senses. She was standing just outside the Weasley's property where she had just apparated too from her own home. She looked over at the old oak tree that stood just on the other side of the property line, and Hermione could clearly see the _R+H_ carved into the the old bark with a heart encompassing the initials. She smirked to herself, just after the battle of Hogwarts when the elation of the win of the war still hung thick in the air and Hermione had yet to find her parents and restore their memory she came to live here at the Burrow. On the first night there as she and Ron snogged against the tree (for what was a rare moment of privacy in the household) he decided that carving their initials would be a deceleration of his love for her. At the time she thought it was very sweet and that someday when she and Ron were ripe and old that they would come back to this tree and reminisce of the love for each other over the many many years the spent with each other. Now she could only smile at the naivety of young passionate love, not that she was significantly older, but it was amazing how much had changed since he carved their initials in to the tree permanently scaring it with thier doomed love.

She pushed aside the rickety gate and strode towards the kitchen door, when she opened the door she was hit with the smells of bacon and egg and various other types of brunch foods. "'Mione!" called Ginny side swiping her in to a big hug.

"Morning, Gin." She smiled as she gave the redhead a tight hug and looked over Ginny's shoulder, and she was caught in the famous emerald eyes of Harry Potter.

"Morning, Hermione," he said and once Ginny had released Hermione from her grasp, Harry moved in and gave her a glancing kiss on the cheek and warm hug.

"Morning, Harry." She let go and looked at him. "How's James?"

Ginny laughed "I swear James after his namesake, that child is to clever for his own good. I don't know how we're going to keep up with him as he gets older."

Hermione chuckled. "Well, that just means he'll go on to do great things, after he gets done driving you two insane."

"Mione!" Ron strutted in with Sara in tow. "I thought I heard you!" he bellowed at her as if she were standing on the opposite side of a Quidditch pitch. He gave her a one armed hug still holding Sara's hand tightly. Sara gave Hermione a smile. "Hey, Hermione."

Hermione smiled at Sara over Ron's shoulder as he embraced her, once he let go she stepped back from him and looked around. "Where's everyone else?" noticing the normally bustling house was unusually tamed at the moment.

"Oh, mum wanted to do brunch in the garden so they're all outside setting up. Sara and I just came to check on the food."

Hermione nodded, "Well then, let's go." Hermione lead the way through the house to that back garden where sure enough a fleet of Weasleys were setting up tables and chairs.

"Hermione!" George exclaimed, thrusting his arm in the air and waving excitedly, and almost on cue the rest of the Weasleys looked up and greeted her as well.

Molly rushed over to Hermione just as she stepped into the garden and gave her a motherly hug, "Hermione, so nice of you to come," as she patted her on the back.

"You do know I come every Sunday," Hermione laughed softly as Molly let her go enough to place her hands on her shoulders.

"I know." Molly grinned "But it's always so wonderful to see you." She wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder and guided her to the table where Mr. Weasley gave her a small hug, Fleur pecked her on the cheeks, Bill gave her a quick squeeze, followed by George and Charlie. Percy nodded at her, he was never big on affections but his wife Penny walked over and gave Hermione a soft hug followed by Angelina, George's wife.

Once she made it through all the greetings she grabbed the dishes and started setting the table with various little hands trying to help, which ended up in a broken plate. Hermione laughed it off and with a quick flick of her wand repaired it right as Molly called everyone to the table for brunch.

As everyone settled chatting to the person next to them, Ron stood up "Everyone, Sara and I have an announcement to make." He grinned from ear to ear, as he pulled Sara up to stand next to him " We're engaged!" he proclaimed, Sara stood almost sheepishly next to him.

In a instant the table erupted in cheers and while Hermione smiled and clapped with everyone else, something inside her choked back tears. Why her heart was breaking she had no idea, this engagement had been long anticipated, and Sara was wonderful for Ron and Hermione had come to adore her in that sense. Ron deserved a Sara, he had been through so much and needed somebody to be there for him, in a way that Hermione couldn't.

After brunch was over it was decided that champagne was in order, so everyone went inside to toast to the newly engaged couple, Hermione hung back and walked out towards the swamp and the old oak tree. Lost in her own thoughts she didn't hear someone come up and stand beside her.

"Ron told me about this tree" Sara spoke softly

Hermione sprung out of her trance and looked at Sara. Sara was a pretty little thing; if she was 5ft tall that would shock Hermione, she had a sweet face and had many tattoos adorning her body. She was muggle born so there were many things that she, Hermione, and Harry could talk about together. Behind her eyes however, Hermione could tell she had known real pain, there was a sense of forced maturity there that Hermione could recognize instantly, and in the right mood Hermione detected a hint of longing. Hermione never dared asking however, she didn't feel she should delve into people problems without a good reason. "He did?" Hermione asked coming back to reality.

"Yea, told me all about how you guys dated, then got engaged and then broke it off." Sara kicked her feet in the dirt path not looking at Hermione her arms crossed.

Hermione placed a hand on Sara's shoulder. "Oh Sara, I'm not in love with Ron anymore."

Before Hermione could elaborate Sara laughed and cut her off "I know that!" She smiled at Hermione as if she were a child with the wrong answer. "I know, if you loved Ron still you would have married him instead of dragging your feet."

Hermione couldn't hide the shock on her face. "Then why did you come out here to talk to me?" She asked confused

"Because you looked like you needed to talk to someone." Sara casually shrugged. "And I know how you're feeling." Hermione gave here a curious look. "Before I started to date Ron I had a long term boyfriend, but we ended up breaking up but promised to be friends, and we were for a long time. Then when I found out that he had met someone new and wanted to marry her I was upset." Sara watched Hermione carefully. "As I see it, this was suppose to be your life, marrying in to the Weasley family and all. When I started to come around you were okay with me cause you wanted Ron to move on, but now that were engaged it's different."

Hermione thought for a long moment. "It's not that I'm jealous of you, because I adore you, you are wonderful for Ron." She paused, then looked down. "But you're right, you two are going to go off and live this wonderful life filled with love and each other, and here I am still buried in work. I feel like I may have given up on my chance to have happiness and a family. I'm worried all of the sudden that I won't find someone to marry and grow old with, that it will be me, my work and thirty-seven cats."

Sara laughed, and Hermione elbowed her in the shoulder. "Don't laugh!" She smiled.

Sara sighed. "Hermione, that won't be you. I promise you are to pretty and smart there is no way on earth you're going to end up with thirty-seven cats. Just give love a chance and you'll find it." She turned to hug Hermione, "Now if you don't mind there are people in there getting drunk in my honor without me, so don't be long, 'cause I believe you still owe me a toast as well," Sara teased.

* * *

Draco was picking at his food while his mother and Portia prattled on about nonsense, every so often he would shoot Blaise a _kill me now_ look which Blaise would happily return. It wasn't until his mother started talking about some ball at the Malfoy Manor that he interjected. "I'm sorry mother, when is this gala?"

Narcissa looked at him almost as if she thought he had suddenly regained his voice from a silencing spell. "This coming Saturday. Why, Draco? Do you have other plans? Because I happen to know that many of my friends are excited to hear of your endeavors."

Draco peaked an eyebrow at her. "So soon after Father's burial? I thought it was uncouth to celebrate so soon," his smirk turning to a wince of pain as his mother kicked him in the shins under the table.

"We're not celebrating your father's passing Draco," she hissed at him. "But I have been planning a _Battle Ball_ for several weeks now. Invitations were sent out before your father's passing, and it would be a shame to cancel it now."

Draco looked at Blaise who nodded to confirm this information, and Draco rolled his eye. "If you say so, mother."

"I do _expect_ you to be there," his mother emphasized "And I would say you could bring a date, but I try to keep hussies out of such events."

Blaise choked on his food from laughing and Draco shot him a dangerous look.

After lunch the four of them split up, the two ladies decided that some shopping was in order even if they didn't actually need anything and the two men wanted to catch up on the past year.

"So, how were the foreign hussies?" Blaise teased

"Quite good, if I say so myself," Draco acknowledged. "There was this one woman in Spain," he shook his head, reminiscing of the curves her body made.

"Apparently I need to go to Spain," Blaise said, watching his friend's expression.

Draco laughed. "In all, it was good. After I left you in Greece, I went to Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Morocco and then landed in Spain. Not much to say other than I went," he shrugged.

Blaise nodded and looked down at his feet, his hands tucked in to his robes. "And were there any other issues?"

Draco visibly stiffened and looked down. "No, not since Germany, before I owled you." Draco paused for a moment. "And, to remind you, my promise still stands if my condition were to become common knowledge." Draco grimaced.

"Draco, I know trust is not something that is prioritized among our social circles, however I do promise. " Blaise eyed him carefully. "I hear _The Broom Shop_ has the newest Nimbus if you wanted to have a look"

Draco lifted his head and nodded desperate for a new subject.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Hermione arrived at her desk promptly at eight-thirty as per usual, her poor secretary, who arrived even earlier to beat her to the office every day, looked practically tired this morning. "Good morning Melody, you looked tired."

Melody stifled a yawn. "Yes, Ma'am, just had a bit of a late night, one of my girlfriends got engaged, so celebrations were in order, and well you know how those things go," she chuckled.

"You do know you have sick days for things like that, correct?" Hermione questioned, though she had never personally taken a sick day for any purpose, she understood the general use of them.

"Of course I know. I also know that I am the secretary to a very important women hell bent on changing the world." Melody smiled "Now, I put your coffee on your desk and Mr. Bateman has requested to see you today, he said it had to do with the Werewolf program being implemented soon. He's expecting you at ten." She passed Hermione the file to look over before the meeting.

Hermione nodded and thanked Melody and sat down at her desk, the program aimed to protect werewolves from various attacks that had been increasing over the past year. During the war, Voldemort used werewolves like Fernier Greyback to infect as many people as he could, most of which were children in order to terrorize and gain power in the war, thus there was a surge in the werewolf population. It seemed like everyone known at least one werewolf and while many were more sympathetic to werewolves, some people held on to thier prejudice. This most recent program sought to protect them as a special species and offer one on one liaisons to the ministry as well as provide special security measures. It was nearly ten when Hermione finished looking over the file. She gathered her things and went to see her Department head Mr. Bateman, she knocked on his door and he called her in.

"Hermione," he said not looking up from the papers on his desk, it looked like he was editing something.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked sitting down in the chair in front of his desk.

Mr. Batmen didn't look at her for a few moments finishing whatever sentence he was reading, then finally leaned back and looked at her. "Yes, as you know we've got this new program coming in to effect and while everyone will be given ten to fifteen people to liaison for, you will be getting the more high profile cases. The ministry seems to think that if you handle the high profiles that it may go over better. You being a War hero blah, blah, blah, so on and so fourth." He rolled his eyes.

Hermione bristled. She hated being used as a puppet for the Ministry's to impress the affluent, this was not the first time they tried to get her to play pretty for the wealthy. " Mr. Bateman, while I'm glad to help with the werewolf program I don't appreciate being used for my infamy" she said haughty tone.

"Yes, Miss. Granger, I understand that and believe me I fought with the minister about it too, I'm on your side, but Kingsley says that they need the best and you are the best. Now, if you really don't want to, then please talk to Kingsley yourself. I don't have have the patience, time or power to change it." He looked at her. "Look, I get it, being famous has it draw backs, and I've done my best thus far to keep you from being a Ministry marionette but this one is over my head, honestly." He sighed. "Now you'll be getting your files Thursday, meanwhile I expect that House Elves Decree on my desk by Friday morning, the Wizengamot wants to hear it that afternoon, so be expecting to take home revisions and retractions this weekend to have it sent back Monday, and hopefully we will have that decree passed that afternoon."

Hermione chewed on her lip, wondering if she should say anything more on about the werewolf program, but her boss gave her a look that warned otherwise. "Okay, I'll have it to you by Thursday night, I'd like to sit in on the Wizengamot if that's okay, just so I can take notes and perhaps get a jump on the rework."

He went back to editing the files in front of him. "If you want to waste your day listening to the old people droning on about decrees, be my guest, but still know I expect you to get started on your werewolves too. Now out, and let Smith know I want to see him, I have some issues with this centaur stuff he sent over."

Hermione nodded and left. She dropped by Smith's office and relayed the information also warning him that Bateman was in a mood, though Bateman always seemed to be in a mood. He said it's what twenty years of red tape did to a person and warned everyone to get the hell out of dodge sooner rather than later. That being said, Hermione knew Bateman had been offered promotions and other jobs other places but he always stayed. For a job he said he hated, he seemed to care enough to stay.

The rest of her week was spent shuffling between departments, and coworkers trying get the final wording and laws proposals right before the Wizengamot on Friday. Finally, as she finished up the last sentence on Thursday she took a sigh of release and walked it over to Bateman's office for final approval. She knocked and he beckoned her in. " I have that Decree." She said tentatively said because he barley acknowledged her since he let her in.

"Good," he grumbled over his paperwork, still not looking at her. She gingerly placed the decree on his desk and turned to leave. "Hermione," he began glancing up at her, "good work," returning immediately to his papers.

She smiled "Thanks." and she left. The next morning Hermione came in at nine with the rest of her co-workers, because the Wizengamot didn't meet until ten, she allowed herself to sleep in on days her decrees were being heard. She greeted Melody who also came in late for their normal standards and seemed to be in a chipper mood.

"Morning, Miss Granger. You excited for today?" Melody sang.

Hermione chuckled. "Yes I'm rather looking forward to it, but keep in mind there's still quite a ways to go yet, and I still have to get the rewrite done and then it'll pass."

Melody sighed. "You are very good at bringing down the mood, Miss Granger. Anyways, their supposed to see your decree at eleven, but rumors have it, the new decree for Azkaban living conditions is at ten, so be prepared to be delayed, my friend over in Law and Enforcement says it highly controversial and that they barely got the decree to the Wizengamot, let alone passing it through. Also the designer dropped off your dress for the battle ball tonight and I'm to remind you that your appointment for hair and make up is at five this evening and you are not to be late; the stylist said she would need every minute you could spare to tame your hair." Melody cautiously looked up hoping her statement took no ill will. "For the record," she added, "I admire you owning your curls, and I personally love your hair."

Hermione laughed. "Thank you, Melody. You can have them. They're such a hassle to take care of." Hermione turned to leave, then stopped. "Wait, did you say the battle Ball was tonight?"

Melody nodded "Well, the Anniversary was yesterday, and Mrs. Malfoy wanted to throw the ball as close to the Anniversary as she could, apparently she is very particular about such things"

Hermione sighed. "This day just got much much longer."

"Mrs. Granger, if I could ask something personal?" Melody mumbled. "Why go to the Malfoy's? I know they were on the wrong side of the war and rumors say their son was terrible to you at school. I was shocked when you told me to RSVP yes."

Hermione thought for a long moment. "Well, firstly, I owe Narcissa a debt, she saved Harry's life four years ago. Secondly, people change and Narcissa has been very generous to our department several times and she pushes our agendas through to the other pureblood and Ministry officials wives, which in turn get passed on to their husbands who happen to hold more than a modicum of power. Thirdly, her son won't be there." Hermione smirked.

As predicted the Azkaban Decree went past it's allotment and she had to come back after lunch and hear more on the treatment of prisoners. She had to admit after hearing the proposal of rehabilitation of those not serving life sentences, she was not adverse to the idea of fair treatment. Though a part of her hated the idea of death eaters having any kind of comfort after the pain and terror they caused. She mostly worked on her Werewolf files that she had received yesterday but hadn't got a chance to even look at until this morning. Hermione had been reading the background information each of her cases and making notes on how best to approach and protect them, she looked in their jobs, friends, and family ties, making sure there were no known racist within their social circles. Hermione got about half way through her cases before the decree was vetoed to be reworked. Next up was her Decree , Hermione listened intently as the Wizengamot debated the decree, finally it was vetoed as well, however with just minor wording and phrasing adjustments. Hermione sighed in relief. It took her several attempts to get this far; she had been at the Wizengamot three other times on this same version each time cutting more and more back to please the Wizengamot. Now finally she had something that would actually pass, she looked at her watch, stunned to see it was past four.

Hermione had to rush back to her office. She needed to get home take a shower, have a quick dinner, take care of Crooks for the night then floo to her stylist, who would have a conniption if she was late. She wasn't sure if forty-five minutes was enough, but by the goodness of Merlin she made it to her stylist's salon with five minutes to spare.

Amber was a tall red head and while she was sometimes too blunt, she was very good at what she did. Amber was the only person that could tame Hermione's curls and make them stay that way for more the two hours. Amber managed to get her hair in to some sort of bun thing that actually made her natural curls look beautiful and then did a subtle smokey eye and delicate make up to match the softer look. By the time Amber was done, Hermione looked like she could have walked out of a magazine. Yes Hermione was naturally beautiful, her family and friends told her so all the time, but with her hair done and make up flawless, she looked stunning. Hermione thanked Amber and paid her handsomely. Hermione returned home to put on her dress before she left for the ball. The dress was a black number with a very modest boat neck line and three-quarter length sleeves, from the front very classy and conservative. The back, however, had a deep v-cut that emphasized her curves and ended at the small of her back, with a layered train following behind her. She accessorized it with a long triple strand pearl necklace, a pair of pearl earrings and some black heels that no one would ever see because the dress was long enough to hide them. She checked herself in the mirror once more took a deep breath and headed for the floo.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Draco smiled and shook what must have been the three-hundredth hand so far that night, and with each hand shake he recalled why he had left this life style in the first place. But his mother wanted him here greeting each guest as they all gathered to pretend they cared about whatever cause Narcissa deemed worthy this time. When all they really wanted was to come and eat expensive food, drink expensive booze and gossip about their petty lives. Yes, Draco hated these kind of events with the pomp and circumstance, self-importance, and boring music. The only benefit would be that after a week full of decorating, preparing, and planing he would finally get to stand back let his mother host, while he drank copious amounts of alcohol. However, he had to get through the hand shaking before he drink himself in to a stupor, or perhaps some girl's bed. So he stood with his mother half behind a wall in the Gallery where people were coming in to the manor after flooing in through the fireplaces in the the foyer or aparating form outside the Malfoy property. It was Draco's job to politely take ladies cape shrugs, scarves, or cloaks and then hand them off to the house elf who would put them in the closet for safe keeping. This did give Draco the advantage of flirting with all of the pretty girls at the party and gave him a decent head start in the competition against the other virile males.

Draco had just handed a fox shrug that he had helped an older witch out of moments ago to a house elf when he heard his mother exclaim.

"Hermione!" Narcissa marveled, "You look simply sensational!" Draco froze at her words, he couldn't see Hermione because he had tucked behind the wall to help the old witch and then had given the shrug to the elf. "Let me have a look at you, oh my that dress is ravishing." It was then when Draco moved around to see Hermione and damn, she did look amazing. Narcissa had Hermione turning around in a circle so as Draco rounded the corner all he could see was a deep v-cut in the dress, his eyes tracked down her spine, she had certainly filled out since he last saw her, or she had been hiding a phenomenal figure under all those school uniforms. As she turned to face Narcissa he noticed other curvaceous parts of her body as well, Draco had to stop himself from gaping he was so taken by her. Smoothly, while Hermione was distracted by his mother, Draco took her hand bent forward slightly and placed soft kiss on her knuckles watching her for a very long moment.

Hermione turned to look at whoever had taken her hand and froze gawking when gray eyes caught her in their gaze. There, holding her had gently, was Malfoy, his platinum hair longer then it was at Hogwarts, five o'clock shadow defining his cheekbones and his pale skin warmed by the evening light.

"M...M..Malfoy?" She stuttered in shock. She wasn't sure what she found more disorienting the fact that he was here or the fact that he was willing touching her, and in a kind way none the less.

"Granger." He murmured into her knuckles, thoroughly pleased at how much he had confused her. He released her hand and stood up straight, smirking at his accomplishment to throw her off. "Thank you for coming." Draco watched carefully as the gears in her head clicked in to place.

Hermione withdrew her hand from his grasp. "Thank you." Her tone wary, she eyed him carefully. When she imagined seeing Malfoy again this was not the scenario she pictured. Hermione hadn't seen Malfoy since their eighth year at Hogwarts and honestly he had been ostracized by everyone but a handful of Slytherins, even most of his own house refused to acknowledge him. So she'd often seen him alone, hardly speaking in class and never spent much time with anyone. As their eighth year went on Hermione came to almost pity Malfoy. She had not forgiven him however. By the time Voldemort came to power again he was old enough to make a choice, he was old enough to choose his side, and while in the end he did choose Harry's side, she felt it was always to little to late. Narcissa she had forgiven, she had made the decision to protect her son in his sixth year, and stood by Voldemort only because that was the way she could keep Malfoy safe. Then, when Harry sacrificed himself she choose to lie to Voldemort knowing that if Voldemort won she would lose her life. That was bravery in Hermione mind, Narcissa risked everything she held dear in that single moment, what had her son done? He managed to not kill Dumbledore, and as far as Hermione could tell that was the only thing he did.

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, clearly she was thinking to herself but now this prolonged silence became awkward as she stared blankly at him. "Granger?" he questioned.

She whipped back to reality, realizing she had been staring at him longer then she should have. "I thought you were traveling?" she asked him, her tone edgy.

Draco straightened himself to his full height, catching he sharp tone for the threat is was. "I returned for my fathers passing," he replied in an icy voice of civility that would have made his father proud. _Damn it._

Hermione lifted her chin as his cold tone washed over her again, he sounded like Lucius incarnate. "I'm sorry for your loss." She turned to Narcissa again. "Thank you very much for inviting me. Your galas are always so wonderful." Hermione's tone turning from chilled to warm in half a beat.

Draco watched as the women exchanged more pleasantries, not taking his eyes off Hermione until she walked out of sight. With a lull in the arrivals Narcissa spoke. "Well Draco, that was chilling."

Draco rolled is eyes and looked at his mother once more. "You know we have history, piles and piles of it. What I didn't know was you two seem to be on a first name basis. When did that happen?"

Narcissa gave a small knowing smile. "We happen to attend many of the same fundraisers and events, the first thing she actually said to me after the trials was a gratitude for saving Mr. Potter's life."

"She thanked you for that?" Draco asked incredulously.

Narcissa tilted her head and raised her eyebrow at him. "Yes, she says I saved him when I lied to the Voldemort about his state of being."

Draco looked over his shoulder to glimpse her talking to some old man, a banker if Draco recalled correctly. "Is that right?" he mumbled over his shoulder.

Hermione was in fact talking to a banker, old wealthy men always sought her out at these functions, before she and Ron broke up, Ron would fend them off with his bluntness. Seeing as Ron no longer attended balls with her anymore, she spent most of her evening talking to men who she suspected wanted a pretty little trophy wife to adorn their already massive collections. She, of course, would have nothing to do it, however she played nicely. Every once in a while a nice young man would swoop in to _save her form her woes,_ but she knew this was only a more suave way to woo her. This move rarely worked beyond diverting her from the older men. She sipped her champagne slowly, playing out the scenes in her head while the man in front of her regaled his efforts on bringing the Goblins to terms with the new Gringotts policies.

She nodded and smiled, surveying the room once more, an old wartime habit that she had yet to quit, when the platinum of Malfoy's hair had caught her eye again. He stood out in particular now, he was easily six feet tall, she read somewhere that men didn't stop growing until their twenty-one, and apparently Malfoy had continued to grow after Hogwarts. He was at lease six inches taller then the last time she saw him, his shoulders had broadened making his waist look even more slender in his Dress robes and, not that she was really looking, but it seemed that his muscles had become more defined as well. Her eyes lingered on him, examining his features from afar, the almost gaunt features that had fatigued him during the war gave in to a strong jaw and defined cheekbones. When he did smile he had a warmth to him that she had never witnessed before, she wouldn't call it a kind warmth but more of polite warmth? She wasn't sure if that was what she was going for, but Hermione thought he certainly looked less cruel, was that even possible?

Could a Malfoy be human? Then a pang of guilt her, Hermione's eyes darted towards Narcissa, she was certainly human. Hermione had come to very much like Narcissa, and while Narcissa was prim and proper, Hermione knew there was a soft heart underneath all the guards she put up. Among the pureblood crowd Hermione understood the need for such guards. Hermione was sure that Narcissa was just a kindhearted woman who was forced into a marriage to a cruel, hateful man. It was because of the puritanical ways Narcissa was raised she had no way out of that marriage, thus leaving her trapped in what Hermione was sure was an abusive marriage. The only light at the end of her tunnel being her son, and that light was why Narcissa risked it all.

Hermione's gaze drifted back to the Malfoy heir, _he was probably abused too, rarely did the husband beat only the wife_. Another pang of guilt washed over Hermione she chewed on her lip, her one hand holding champagne the other hand holding grasping her forearm. _Was that why he was such a prat?_ Not that being abused is ever an excuse for anything, but the thought of it explained a lot. _Is that why his demeanor has changed because his prick of a father is no longer around to hurt him or his mother?_

"Miss Granger?" The old mad questioned

Hermione snapped back to reality again, cursing herself for not hearing anything the gentlemen said in the last five minuets, possibly ten. "Sorry. I..I uh... got lost in thoughts," she admitted earnestly.

The Older Gentlemen looked over his shoulder and saw Malfoy where Hermione had been gazing. "Ahh Draco, he has truly come in to his own the past few years, hasn't he? From what Narcissa has told me he's been doing quite a bit of traveling, using muggle transport, nonetheless." The man chuckled to himself. "If the Malfoy ancestors knew, they would be rolling in their graves with fury! Narcissa says he has been acting like a poor commoner, backpacking his way around, staying in less than favorable conditions." He lowered his head, his eyebrows raised and look over his spectacles. "She's quite happy to have him home in the safe confines of the Malfoy Manor"

Hermione's expression of shock must have been laughable as the gentlemen chortled at her look. "That's what he has been doing in the three years he's been away?" She questioned.

The man watched her face carefully. "Yes, hasn't Narcissa told you of his travels?"

Hermione looked down, Narcissa had told her that he was traveling but Hermione never asked beyond that, assuming Malfoy was Playboying across Europe in expensive hotels and private properties that the Malfoy's surely owned. "I never particularly asked, he and I weren't on the best of terms at school."

The banker nodded. "Well then, maybe it's time to let bygones be bygones." He smiled, "Draco!" He bellowed across the floor, waving his free hand, beckoning Draco over.

Hermione looked up in shock at the banker, feeling her face become a violent shade of red, "No..." _Shit,_ she forgot his name. "No, no, uh no need.." but before she could finish her sentence, Malfoy appeared at her side. Her head dropped looking down at her hands that were now anxiously playing with her champagne glass.

"My dear son, this extravagant young lady was just telling me of her wish to dance, however being as late in years as I am, dancing is ill-advisable." The banker looked at Hermione who was apprehensively playing with her glass and plucked it from her hands. "I was curious if you would do me the favor of dancing with her instead." He genuinely smiled.

Hermione looked up, her mouth pursed and just as she was going retort Malfoy cut in.

"Certainly, Mr. McHale." Draco nodded politely and slipped his hand into Hermione's and raised her hand then looked at her as she gaped at Mr. McHale, a small smirk caressing his lips as he watched her confusion sink in. When she finally turned to look at Draco her amber eyes meeting his, he felt a small twinge in his stomach.

Hermione met his eyes, still trying to puzzle out the few moments that had just happened her mind moving a million miles a minute, and then Malfoy smirking at her and placing another chaste kiss on her knuckles. What alternate universe had she slipped into?!

Draco smoothly lead her to the dance floor, reveling in the shocked silenced that accompanied him. As they reached the dance floor he placed his free hand on her back pulling Hermione close to him, his other hand still holding hers. The orchestra started to play a smooth waltz and Draco began to lead her across the floor, pleasantly surprised that she wasn't completely inept at dancing.

Hermione finally caught on to the moment, her body effortlessly following Malfoy's steps. "Okay, Malfoy, what are you playing at?" her voice terse, this must have been some sort of trick to make her look foolish, and belittle her in some way. Was there a pureblood tradition of handing women around like toys?

Draco continued to gaze down at her, of course she was suspicious. He had been a twat to her in their early Hogwarts years and then he was a Death Eater, he knew that she wouldn't trust him at all. Though Draco was surprised she didn't hex him in to next Tuesday when he took her hand. "Nothing," Draco said giving pause. "Mr. McHale simply said you needed a dance partner and it would have been rude not to take you off his hands."

"So it is some sort of belittling thing towards women?" Hermione sneered, as she tried to pull away from him causing him to misstep as he grasped her tighter to keep her from leaving, Hermione noting the strength of his arms as he did so.

"No," Draco hissed. He was keenly aware she hated him, and had hated him for a decade now, but he was rather hoping that time would have dulled the loathing just a bit more. "I did not mean it in that way, so don't go twisting it around. He asked me to dance with you and that is what I'm doing." He released her for a turn, and brought her back close to him.

Hermione followed his lead once more, eyeing him skeptically, "Okay, so then why are you being so" she thought for a moment carefully picking the word. She landed on "Civil." In truth he was being charming but that was not an attribute she was not willing to label him with. Honestly the only reason she hadn't hexed him when he first took her hand was because of shock to see this charming side, and perhaps champagne on a nearly empty stomach had not helped either.

Draco smiled, there it was the opening he had been hoping for since he had heard Hermione's name. "We're adults now," he coolly began. "And I have hope that we would be able to let the past be." He smirked. "Besides it seems that you and my mother have made amends, why not us?"

Was Hermione hearing this correctly? Did Malfoy have copious amounts of alcohol, making him tolerable? "Are you drunk?" Though, now that she thought of it, he didn't smell of alcohol.

Draco rolled his eyes in frustration. Of course, he tries to be decent for once in his life and she was accusing him of being intoxicated. "No," he growled. "Damn it, Granger, just let me dance with you."

"No!" She retorted. "No, you don't get to be horrible to me for over a decade then swoop in now and just dance with me," her expression haughty. Their waltz becoming fiery with each verbal counter.

Draco pushed her for another turn this time swinging her back forcefully enough that she collided with his body, her hand now on his chest. "For fuck's sake, Granger, leave it and just dance with me," he hissed quietly in her ear. He had stopped them in the middle of the dance floor, Draco feeling people starting to watch their exchange.

Shivers ran up Hermione's spine as she felt Malfoy's breath hot on her skin, her hand burned on his chest where, whether she imagined it or not, she felt his heartbeat, and a sharp musky cologne teased her senses. She looked up at him, confusion riddling her face, completely unaware of the chatter in the rooms dying and people watching closely. Hermione hesitated. "No, Malfoy, you owe me a lot more than a _forget it_ "

Draco grimaced, but then stepped back still holding her left hand, bowed, and without another word left her on the dance floor. He passed his mother on the way out. "Not a word," he warned Narcissa and then left the party. He stormed down the hall way towards the unoccupied wing of the house, throwing open the doors to the morning dinning room that looked over the gardens. He tore off his dress robes and ripped the bow tie from his neck throwing them on to the table. He paced angrily unbuttoning the first few buttons to his dress shirt feeling stifled in his furry, leaned forward on the wall slamming his fist against the antique wallpaper grumbling to himself. He heard footsteps following him into the room. "Not now Mother." He growled into the wall, turning face Narcissa, but Hermione stood there in his mothers place.

Hermione held her face sternly, as if she was about to discipline one of her god children. "You do not get to storm off like some four year old," she barked at him her arms crossed in front of her.

"It's my house, Granger, I will do as I damn well please." Draco spat back, walking towards her, his full height at least a head above hers.

"No you will not. I may be in _your_ house, but you are not allowed ever to disrespect me again," she shot back not intimated by his stature. "You got away with that for too many years, as far as I am concerned."

"You don't fucking get it, do you, Granger?!" Draco slammed his fist against the table beside her.

Hermione didn't flinch; she wouldn't give him the gratification of her fear. "No, I don't _fucking_ get it, hence the entire purpose of this conversation," she yelled at him. "You literately waltz back in to my life and expect me to forget the ten plus years of your torture that you put me through, and then get mad at me when I demand a reason?" She huffed. "No, I don't get it."

Draco threw his head back in frustration walking away from her then stopping and turning on his heel to yell at her some more. "I fucking had too!" He bellowed his arms outstretched "Do you remember the first time I called you a mudblood?" He watched Hermione's face recoil. "Second fucking year Granger! Did it ever fucking cross your mind that if I thought that poorly of you I would have called you that first year?" He paused, watching her think for a moment. "When I came home and told my father about you and how you outdid me in class rankings, he beat me, then told me I had to remind you of your place." He was breathing heavily now, he could feel the anger giving way to guilt, he moved closer to her his voice calmer now. "It was a fucking show. If anyone knew that I harbored anything but contempt for you, I'd be beaten for my insolence." He was standing inches from her, he could almost feel her warmth, and so desperately wanted just to touch her again. He cautiously moved his hand to her face just hovering centimeter over skin, the want to caress her cheek aching in fingers.

Hermione was gazing deep in to eyes, waiting almost for him to burst out laughing proclaiming some sick joke, but he stood like a statue, waiting for something from her. Problem was, Hermione didn't know what that was. She could feel the tension between them; it was so thick she felt stuck in its weight, but she was scared, scared that this was a ruse. Afraid that if she did anything but walk away Malfoy would spread the gossip to every corner of the earth to embarrass her, and yet, she wasn't sure she had seen anyone ever be so real with her. Things started to click in to place throughout her memory. He was right, he hadn't called her a mudblood until second year. He also always seemed to pay extra attention to her throughout their years at Hogwarts. In fact, Hermione couldn't remember him using mudblood against anyone but her. Then there were the looks he gave her in class. She had always assumed her was sneering or glaring at her for being swotty, but was there something else there? Something written between the lines that Hermione just missed. "What are you saying, Malfoy?" she whispered.

Draco clenched his jaws, "For fuck sake" He slid his hand against her cheekbone and to the back of her head and pressed his lips on hers hard. Desperately he kissed her, as if he was trying to make up for ten long lost years. His other hand snaked around her hips and pulled her into him with a crushing force. And much to his pleasure she didn't fight him. She didn't wrap her arms around him, but she didn't pull away or push him back either. He pulled his lips off hers, their foreheads still pressed together and in a barely-there voice he said, "That, Granger, that is what I'm saying, and have been saying since you were looking for Longbottom's stupid toad."

Hermione swore that her heart beat was audible; it was thundering so loud in her chest, no one had kissed her like that. Ever. Ron's kisses were always sweet and soft and the other men she had kissed were not nearly as passionate. Malfoy had just kissed her like he needed Hermione to bring him back to life, so desperate as if his existence depended on her lips. His grip so firm and so tight she almost questioned if he would ever let her go. Yet her common sense was warning her _this is Draco Bloody Malfoy, he's going to hurt you._ Oh but how her desire wanted to ignore the threatening of her brain, she hadn't been touched in almost a year and her primal urges pushed for her to seek cardinal pleasures as if his kiss was laced with hormones to seduce her. She just wanted more, her stomach tingling with warmth, anticipation, risk and the forbidden temptations added an insatiable need for pleasure. _But fuck, this is fucking Malfoy_ her logic screamed at her, but her body grasped for more. She kissed him this time, her hands sliding up his chest to find exposed skin where he had unbuttoned his shirt and cool flesh titillated her finger tips. _SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, EVACUATE, LEAVE NOW!_ Her head was pounding as her brain tried to gain control of a body that was retaliating.

Draco leaned hard into her kiss, amazed that she was still there in front of him; he was sure when he kissed her she would Avada him. His skin lurched at her touch suddenly aware that his shirt was unbuttoned and how unbelievably silky her hands were against his chest. His groin twitched with the desire he felt building through his body, ten years of desire to be exact. His hands instinctively grabbed her by the ass the picking her up to straddle his hips, Draco grateful she had choose a dress with a loose skirt. He moved back towards the dinning table setting her on the edge kissing her feverishly now, his body frantic with anticipation. He cupped her breast as his kisses slipped down on Hermione's neck nipping at shoulder.

Merlin's beard, Hermione wanted this, the heat between her legs burning so hot it overtook every good sense she had, she could feel his length pressed on her inner thigh, the thought of it pushing into her made her ache in ways only a women would understand. As Malfoy massaged her breast she could feel every inch of her body excite with a hunger she hadn't felt since she was a teenager. His hot kisses pushed her spine down on to the table, she slowly opened her eyes to find him unbuttoning the rest of his shirt, and then her brain struck her like lightning. _STOP NOW,_ and as if a cold bucket of water had been dumped on her she came back to the reality, "No!" she yelled, visibly catching Malfoy off guard. "No, I have to go, I can't do this, I won't do this!" Her voice desperate and terrified. She quickly stood up and ran for the door and was out of the room before Malfoy could say a thing.

Draco was unsure of what had just happened, Hermione was lost in passion one moment and running out the door the next, his fingers still frozen on his shirt buttons. It wasn't until he heard the door slam that he woke from his trance, he spun around to look at her but she was already gone. "FUCK!" he bellowed this time kicking his lounge in anger. He chased her away, he knew there was no way on earth that she would be ready for intimacy with him he was already on thin ice by kissing her, and now he had gone and lost control and managed to mess up any chance he had at her. "Damn it!" he choked, rolling his head back and running his hand through his hair, if he had any self control he would have just walked away before she could kiss him back. It just then dawned on him, she had kissed him back, a small smile snuck it's way across his lips.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After collecting himself Draco went back to the party, where he found Blaise at the bar flirting with some witch, whom Draco was pretty sure he knew, but in that moment didn't care to remember. "Fire whiskey" not that the bartender didn't already know who Draco was or what he drank.

"So?" Blaise wiggled his eyebrows, hoping for juicy information.

"So, what?" Draco mumbled in to his glass.

"Granger?" Blaise implied leaning closer to Draco. "I didn't know you had a thing for her."

Draco rolled his eyes. "And?" He growled this time, challenging Blaise to taunt him.

"I quite actually like it, you guys seemed to have some sort of spark, back at Hogwarts. Though back then, it was toxic. Nonetheless, it was there." Blaise explained. "Kinky too, if you ask me." Blaise chortled. "Was it? Kinky?"

Draco glared at Blaise. "First, why would I care if you approved of her? Second, what makes you think you know anything of chemistry? Third, why in the seven hells would I even tell you if we did fuck?"

Blaise raised eyebrows, "You didn't?" He paused. "Damn, the way she chased after you I thought it was inevitable."

Draco took a long drink. "Goes to show what you know." He uttered sharply.

Blaise smirked. "Well, you know what rejection calls for..." Draco looked at him inquisitively. "Have you never been rejected mate?" Blaise asked disbelievingly.

Draco scoffed and finished his drink in a quick swig. "A Malfoy _always_ get what he wants" Blaise laughed and then started to introduce Draco to every attractive female that he found, all the while applying Draco with excessive amounts of booze. Draco deduced that booze and women was Blaise's way of shrugging off rejection, and Draco was not opposed it.

The next morning Draco woke to Nibsy popping to his room. "Nibsy has brought Master some Hangover potion and also to tell Sir, that Madam Malfoy expects Sir's presence at breakfast in an hour." Nibsy looked cautiously over the other lump in the bed. "Madam also made clear, Sir, that she was not expecting guests to attend." Nibsy's wary eyes rolled back to Draco not sure how he would react to guests unwanted presence.

Draco sat up on his forearms, and looked at the blonde in his bed drooling on his Egyptian cotton. _Shit._

"Thanks Nibsy, I'll be down for breakfast." Draco sat up and the elf vanished from the room, and Draco downed one of the vials. He stood up, and the blonde started to slowly wake, she yawned and stretched, the sheets slipping form her chest exposing rosy nipples. Draco grabbed what he assumed was her dress from the floor, and tossed it at her. "There's a pot of floo powder on the mantel place" he directed, shrugging to the fire place on the other side of the room. "Bathroom's there," he pointed to the en-suit on across the form fire place, now getting himself dressed for breakfast. "And hangover potion here," he pointed to the other vial on the beside table.

The woman grabbed the sheets and brought them up to her chest to cover herself. "So that's it?" her tone offended and accusatory.

Draco pulled on a button down shirt deftly buttoning it, and nodded as he turned to put on some shoes. "Yeah, pretty much," his tone short, standing to leave the room as she gasped in her fury.

* * *

Hermione some how made it out of the manor unnoticed, her mind was so clearly in flight mode she didn't even remember using the floo to go home. Yet there she was standing in her fireplace breathing heavily as if she had just run a marathon. _What the hell just happened!?_ She ran through the events, again and again, each time trying to figure out how she had lost her _bloody_ mind, further yet when Malfoy lost his. She looked at the clock on the wall; she hadn't even been at the ball two hours, Amber had spent more time doing her hair than she spent at the stupid function. What was she thinking? She had to go back, it was extremely rude to leave in such a rush without as much as a goodbye or thank you. _But he's still there._ How in the world did this happen? She let the back of her head thump against the fire place. _He smelled so good_ , the thought drifted across her mind as if it were caught in a passing breeze. Hermione's eye shot open, she grasped for her wand. Clearly Malfoy slipped some sort of love potion or something in to her drink. She cast a quick diagnosing spell that Madame Pomfrey taught her to help assess people injuries after the battle of Hogwarts. The spell came back clear, so she ran it again just to be sure she had done the incantation correctly, and again the spell showed no ailments. Hermione stepped out of the fire place finally and sank in to her lounge, something was very wrong with her, she had never had any romantic inclinations towards Malfoy. EVER. Hermione's mind drifted at the thought of it, there was a month back in first year when she was into the whole bad boy appeal but that was before she found him to be a complete ass. Well, and then there was that other time during fifth year when Harry was stalking Malfoy, she had felt some defensiveness for him, but he was being accused of being a Death Eater and that made him a victim in some weird way in her eyes. And again in their eighth year she felt pity for him because he was always alone, but she couldn't be blamed for that, that's what nice people just did, right? Hermione leaned back in to her lounge looking up at the ceiling, did she once have feelings for Malfoy? If it was possible for her to harbor some feelings for him over the years was it to far fetched to say he felt the some things too? She wished he hadn't have kissed her. Period. Ever. But fuck, he was a good kisser. She spent rest of her night with a bottle of wine and the internal struggle of the kiss eventually deciding that sleep would help clear her mind. Sleep however did not help, her dreams were filled with Malfoy and his burning lips.

Hermione tired desperately to avoid thinking of him as she went about her morning routine, but her mind seemed to clumsily wander back to the bloody kiss. She sat down in front of the House Elf Decree, work was the one thing she could always consume her every thought. She finished up the rewrite for the decree just before noon and decided to send Ginny an owl inviting Gin to join her at a cafe down the street from her house for lunch. It was creeping up on one in the afternoon and Hermione was growing very peckish before Ginny flooed into her living room. "Ginny! Finally. I was just going to go by myself if I didn't hear form you soon." Ginny had a nasty habit of forgetting to owl responses, James being her reasoning, so she often just showed up or didn't. Hermione had come to terms with it, and decided that if she didn't hear form Ginny by an hour to just continue on without her. She was just about to head out the door when Ginny appeared.

Ginny rolled her eyes "James got into the pantry and pulled everything out, and then Harry was late from his thing with Ron, whatever _that_ was." She walked over to Hermione and gave her a hug, "Sorry, James will drive me to insanity I'm sure."

Hermione chuckled, she knew someday she'd want kids, but hearing Ginny's stories made her very glad she didn't have them yet. "It's fine I get it. Are you ready to go? 'Cause I'm starved." Ginny nodded and then they left. Walking there they mostly caught up, Hermione filling Ginny on work and Ginny telling stories of the stuff that James had done since the last time they spoke.

They were sitting on the patio enjoying their salads and flat breads when Ginny asked how last nights ball went and Hermione just about choked on a cherry tomato. "It was fine." Hermione now debating whether or not she should tell Ginny about Malfoy.

Ginny caught on very quickly. "Really? That tomato you just about inhaled tells me different."

A devious smile inching across her face.

"No, no, really it was fine. Like every other high society function, 'dull' would be the best way to describe it." Hermione was now playing with some onion on her plate avoiding Ginny's eyes at all possible cost, lying was not something Hermione was good at. She wasn't as bad as Ron who couldn't keep a secret to save his life, but secretes were different then lying. Secrets meant simply not speaking of something, lying involved eye contact, stories and guilt. So much guilt. Hermione hated lying.

Ginny watched her fiddle with the onion and olives in her Greek salad. "Oh, come on, Hermione, just tell me, you know I'll find out eventually anyways."

This was also true, Ginny had countless ties through Quidditch, plus plenty of people who knew all the latest gossip and if Malfoy had been bragging then Ginny was sure to find out regardless. So it was better if Hermione fessed up now rather then later after Ginny had told Harry and Ron. "Fine." She breathed. How she should tell Ginny, Hermione was unsure, the simple way would be that Malfoy kissed her, but then she kissed him back and then they kinda snogged. "Draco Malfoy snogged me." Hermione blurted out, her mouth spewing this of its own volition, Ginny gasped. "And then I snogged him back," Hermione whined a little, Ginny yelped in disbelief. "Then there was heavy petting and..." Hermione trailed off.

Ginny mouth just about hit the floor, her eye wide. "And!?" She demanded.

"And I got cold feet before it went any further and ran out!" Hermione snapped at her gaping friend.

"Hermione." Ginny hissed. "Merlin's beard, what were you thinking? What happened?"

Hermione regaled the evenings events telling Ginny about every thing Malfoy said and how desperately he had kissed her, and Ginny gaped, listening intently. "Do you believe him?" Ginny finally asked.

Hermione gave Ginny a serious look. "I don't honestly know. It would be nice if it were true, certainly explains some things." Hermione thoughts lingered. " But how am I suppose to move past everything that it didn't explain? I honestly need way more information than he gave me to make a decision."

"So are you going to see him again?" Ginny nonchalantly asked returning to her salad.

"See him again!?" Hermione questioned shocked. "How am I suppose to even look at him again?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "How else do you think you'll get more information?"

Hermione pondered over it for a long time. If she did want more information _he_ was the only person that could give it to her. "I can't see him again, Gin. What if this was all a setup to make look foolish?"

"Looking foolish is never something anyone has ever said about you Hermione. Are you really telling me you're willing to face Voldemort with Harry, but not look Draco Malfoy in the eye after _he_ snogged you?" Ginny taunted.

Hermione pursed her lips. _Fuck._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: First off I would like to thank all of you for reading this far, and give a special thanks to those of you who left me a review, this story sat on my computer for a long time because I was so afraid it was terrible and your kind words have really encouraged me to keep writing and posting so thank you so so much. Really.**

 **Secondly, this is my first time writing or posting a Fan Fiction, so please if you see any blaring issues please message me or leave a comment, I don't really know what I'm doing so I'm always open help! That being said please be kind, I'm true Hufflepuff in that I care probably a little to much, and I tend to take things to personally (thought I'm not sure if the latter is a Hufflepuff trait).**

 **Third, I should be uploading chapters on a regular basis, I'm aiming for Tuesday's where I am. I have up to chapter 22 written, and edited. (Shout out to my husband who edits this for me) As of this moment it looks like there will be give or take 35 chapters, and once I finish it, all I might just throw it all up and let you guys have at it. Lemme know what you think, I know I hate waiting for uploads but I maybe one of the few I don't do well with suspense.**

 **Love, Momma Badger**

 **Chapter 7**

Draco lay in bed that Saturday evening, trying desperately not to think of the almost that had happened the previous night. He punched his pillow as the moment ran through his brain over and over again. _Merlin's beard! Why did I kiss her?!_ But the image of her soft lips swept over his eyes.

" _Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost his."_ He could almost hear Hermione's eleven year old voice in his ears.

 _She looked at him as she stood in the compartment door, he was alone. Crab and Goyle went to find the snack trolley even though Draco had told them it was coming. "Who are you?"_ Draco cringed at the harshness of his prepubescent voice.

 _She gave him a stern look. "Hermione, Hermione Granger. And you are?"_

 _Draco gave her a reproachful look. "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."_

 _Hermione's eye widened, "Malfoy, I've read about you. Your family dates back very far, and has had some significant roles is Wizarding society."_

 _Draco gave her a proud smirk. "Yes, we are quiet a powerful and influential family." Draco looked over her, she was cute for a eleven year old girl, and obviously well read and intelligent too._

" _Well, if you see a toad, Neville is in compartment thirty-six" She nodded and pranced off to the next compartment_

" _Okay." Draco mumbled as he watched the young witch's unruly curls spring after her, hoping she would be sorted in to Slytherin._

But she wasn't, and Draco watched Hermione from afar, sitting behind her in classes so he could stare at her as she bounced off her chair to answer questions and watch her laugh with Potter and Weasel. It wasn't until a few weeks in to classes before Draco even knew she was muggleborn. Parkinson made some joke about it, crushing any hopes Draco had of romance with Granger. His parents may forgive a Gryffindor, but they would never allow a muggleborn. Draco cringed again. After that moment he did everything in his power to suppress his attraction to her, he tried hard to convince himself that she was beneath him.

That year Draco went home for Christmas, as he stepped off the Hogwarts Express on to Platfrom 9 ¾ he looked around for his parents, instead Nibsy's shrill voice cut through the thinning crowd. _"Young master Draco, Nibsy has come to pick you up!" Over Nibsy's shoulder Draco watched Hermione hug her mother and father, both of her parents had come to take their daughter home for the holidays. Hermione looked over at Draco and Nibsy with a sad look on her face, Draco sneered back at her and then barked at Nibsy to retrieve his things. Hoping that Hermione had not caught his longing look before he realized his mistake._

 _Nibsy was back a few moments later with Draco's luggage, and they apparated back to the foyer, where Draco's mother waited for him impatiently. "Draco! My Dear! Oh how I've missed you. You must tell me everything, your friends, classes, everything!" His mother gushed hugging him tightly and kissing him. "Oh how I missed you." She whispered sweetly in his ear._

" _Dearest, I'm sure that nothing has changed much in the two days you haven't had an owl from him." Lucius' voice was cold and crisp._

 _Draco felt his mother tense as if her husbands words were a bath of ice water washing over her. "Of course, Darling." She let go of Draco and smoothed out her already flawless robes, her voice eerily echoing Lucius'. "Come Draco, dinner will be done soon."_

 _At dinner Draco sat silent until spoken to, as he was expected to do. Lucius finally addressed him. "Draco, how are you ranking thus far?"_

 _Draco smirked to himself. "Fine, father, I'm so far second in the year."_

" _Second? Pray tell, who is first?" Lucius cocked his eyebrow at a threatening level._

 _Draco blood ran cold at the spike of Lucius' eyebrow. "A girl in Gryfindor," he said with a believable nonchalance._

" _Really?" Lucius drew out. "Who is she?"_

" _Hermione Granger." Draco gathered himself, saying her name gave a surge of courage. "She's quite annoying, always asking the professors questions, and bouncing off her seat to the answer professor's when they quiz us. She's like a book really, she just knows everything. She's easily the smartest girl in our class, and she has this unruly, unkempt, mane of curls so it's easy to pick her out of the crow..." Draco stopped just now noticing the look on his mothers face begging him to stop while he had a chance._

" _And her lineage?" Lucius growled now glowering at his son._

 _Draco froze he had no idea what to do, apparently it was obvious to them that he had a crush on Hermione, and if his father knew, Draco would would be punished. Then without warning, as if his father could read his mind, Lucius stood up and back handed Draco so hard that Draco fell from his chair. "Father, please, no!" Draco pleaded but it was too late._

Draco's cheek had a phantom ache from where his father's family crest had struck his cheek. A small scar was the only indication of the that particular beating, even though that was far from the only thing Lucius did that night. Draco was still various colors of yellow and green on Christmas, there were certainly salves and potions to help heal injuries of that nature but the elves were forbidden to comfort or soothe Draco of any of his beating unless they were visible and Draco was to be in the public eye. Draco had become very adept at compartmentalizing as he grew, and the beatings became less and less as he learned to carefully pick his words and actions. When Draco went back to Hogwarts after holiday, he did everything in his power to avoid Hermione all together, and the moments that she was near him, he became cruel, fearing for his safety. Simultaneously destroying any chance to pursue Hermione he'd ever have. Draco hated his father, for so many more reasons that this, but right now Draco hated Lucius to his core. Hermione was amazing, and he'd never get to tell her.

* * *

Hermione pretty much went through Sunday in haze of confusion. Weasley's left and right asking her what was wrong, her nerves were spring loaded waiting for anyone to confront her about Malfoy. Hermione already threatened Ginny into silence with a few choice memories from her hen's night. Harry, being the most intuitive of all her friends, cornered Hermione insisting that _whatever it was is would be okay to tell him_ she laughed at him. If he really knew what had happened the things Malfoy had said and did-or worse the things she wanted Malfoy to do, she shivered at the thought- Malfoy would see a side of Harry that not even Voldemort had seen. So she had kissed him on the cheek and told him it was really nothing, because it was nothing. Wasn't it?

Which brought Hermione to Monday morning returning to her office, a safe space where she knew that thoughts of Malfoy would be pushed out by work and memos. She sat down and immediately started on her Werewolf files, going over them with intense scrutiny, and taking extensive notes. She had just finished her third file after lunch and figured she had time for another one before she would go home and work on it some more. She opened the file and nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw the smirk of Draco Malfoy looking back up at her. _This can't be right?!_ Hermione pushed the photo aside and looked at the name of the file and sure enough _Draco Malfoy_ was scrawled across the top of the page with _Bitten by: Fenrir Greyback_ written just under Malfoy's name. Hermione's mind went blank and for a moment, all she could do was stare at the photo of Malfoy smirking at her as if she were a first year again.

She hastily picked up the file and rushed to Mr. Batemans office, barely giving him time to answer after she knocked Hermione spilled into his office. "Mr. Bateman, I can't take Malfoy's case, I just can't," she blurted out at him.

"Hello to you too, Miss Granger." Mr. Bateman half greeted her, still looking over the paper work in his hand, his feet casually kicked up on to his desk reclining back into him chair. " And yes, you will take that one, the minster himself specified that."

"And when were you going to tell me that?!" Hermione spat back at him, regretting her tone as Mr. Bateman looked up and gave a her serious look. "Mr. Bateman, sir, with all due respect." As if tacking on these few other words would soothe his look.

Mr. Bateman went back to his files. "Look, you were going to fight me on it either way, and letting you figure it out just kicked this conversation down the road, and some of us have things to do other than get testy with our boss, Miss Granger."

Hermione bristled at the accusation. "Yes, Mr. Bateman, but surely a heads up would have been nice."

"Miss Granger, need I remind you who is the boss here?" questioned Mr. Bateman.

Hermione curled her fingers in to a fist, tilted her head to the side and let out a slow breath. "Mr. Bateman, I do not think you understand the circumstances that Malfoy and I have between us, there is simply no way I can work with him."

"Granger," Bateman said in a sharp voice. "You are a bloody adult and you need to handle this like one, working with Malfoy came from over my head. So deal with it."

Hermione looked shocked, but finally acquiesced. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Bateman." She turned on her heel and left the office.

When she got back she delved in to Malfoy's files, looking into his various friends and family ties, though it seemed a majority of them were in Azkaban or lost in the war, when she came across some of the dictations form his sentencing.

 _Pross: Mister Malfoy, did you take the Dark Mark?  
_

 _Def: No._

 _Pross: Why, then, did you threaten to kill Albus Dumbledore, and let Death Eaters in to Hogwarts on June 30th 1997?_

 _Def: I was threatened by Lord Voldemort._

 _Pross: But Surely Voldemort wouldn't have had just anyone fulfill this task. Why you?_

 _Def: Because he was looking to punish my parents further._

 _Pross: Further? Please elaborate._

 _Def: Look, he already had Fenrir bite me for my father not getting the stupid prophecy._

Hermione read that last sentence over and over again, even though the text went on. Harry was wrong, they had always assumed that Malfoy had the Dark Mark, instead he was bitten, and now he was a werewolf. That was why his Wizengamot was closed to audience, and that was why his sentencing was so light in comparison to others and they must have registered Malfoy on the werewolf register after this discovery. Hermione leaned back in her chair. Was that why he was such a loner all of eighth year, why he really looked so sickly all of their sixth year? He was still adjusting to being a werewolf. Hermione heart swelled with pity. Malfoy couldn't catch a break, first being abused by his father, then being bitten by a werewolf for his father failing at something Malfoy had nothing to do with, and finally being forced to serve the man who ordered his attack. _He never stood a chance..._

She stood up and popped her head out of her office, "Melody, would you please send out the summons to my cases? I would like to see each of them by weeks end."

"Of course Miss. Granger! How would you like me to sign them?" Melody asked pulling a quill form her messy bun to make note.

"For now just use Bateman's name; he is the head of the department" Hermione decided.

"Yes Ma'am! I'll have them out by end of day!" Chirped Melody

"Thanks, Melody." Hermione shrank back into her office, she hated it when Ginny was right, now she had to speak to Malfoy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Draco sauntered into the Ministry of Magic Thursday morning. The summons he received Tuesday had been very vague and only told him what floor and department to report to, however the Department had been enough of a clue. It seemed the ministry was finally taking actions in the Werewolf attacks that had been reported to the paper. Typical government. He strode over to the lift and took it to the fourth level to the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures department.

Draco had not been open with his condition as it wasn't widely accepted in the Wizarding community and even less so in the pureblood families. Many families still considered werewolves dangerous with a need of eradication to all those infected. Naturally his mother felt the need to keep his state a closely guarded secret until society became more accepting of werewolves. His father went to great lengths to keep his trial closed and made sure that the documents were sealed, so there was a bit of shock when the ministry had come calling.

The door to the lift slid open and a cool female voice spoke, "Fourth Level, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." The voice continued on with the sub departments, but Draco quickly exited the lift hoping no one there would recognize him or his hair. While he appreciated his natural platinum that he had inherited from his parents, he did hate that it made him easily identifiable, and yet he couldn't bare the thought of changing his color, as if he would be less of a Malfoy without it. He strode down the hall looking for the correct door, there on the left he saw the Department name and emblem, he pushed open the door into what seemed to be half of the floor divided up in to several smaller offices.

"May I help you?" A kindly older woman asked.

"Yes, I have an appointment, Malfoy, 9:15" Malfoy stated in a cool tone. He had decided that if anyone were to ask he would say he was there to work with some foundation or fundraiser. His family had become particularly involved post war.

"Ah, yes Mister Malfoy, you're going to head straight down this aisle then take the left at the end. Miss Melody will check you in from there." The older woman pointed down the aisle.

Draco nodded and proceeded down the aisle until he turned left, there he saw a plaque on the desk for a Melody Matlock. He looked at the girl, she was probably with age of him, she had long long dirty blonde hair and typical blue eyes, her skin pale like milk. She looked up at him. "Malfoy, 9:15."

Melody smiled at him, "Of course, Mister Malfoy, please take a seat." She gestured towards the chair across from her and next to an office door with another plaque he didn't care to read.

Draco grimaced at her, she didn't seem to understand that Malfoys did not take seats to wait on other people. It was below his family. "I do not appreciate being shuffled around and made to wait," he icily cautioned the woman.

The woman continued to smile sweetly at him. " I understand, Mister Malfoy." Unfazed by his tone the woman stood and walked to the door and knocked. Draco heard a woman answer, and Melody opened the door and spoke again. "Ma'am, your 9:15 is here." The woman in the office said something and Melody nodded again and closed the door, and with another calm smile looked at him. "She'll be with you shortly." Melody walked back to her desk and then continued her work.

Draco jaw clenched, whoever "she" was would regret making him wait, Draco waited on no one. As Draco turned to leave, he heard the door open once more and looked over his shoulder to find Granger.

Hermione looked over Draco. Since the war, more muggle clothing had come into popularity, as a kind of social push to be more accepting of muggleborns, and while older more traditional pureblood families had been reluctant to the change preferring the 17th century style clothing, many of the newer generation adopted a kind of modern style with a 17th century twist. Draco was wearing a charcoal gray trousers with a matching waistcoat, with a stone gray shirt and a black tie. Hermione did note that he had not rolled up his sleeves, she also couldn't help but notice that he looked incredibly handsome. _No, no no no. You do not care what he looks like, period._ Her common sense screamed at her, her brain seemed to be doing a lot of screaming these days. "Mister Malfoy, please come in." Hermione smiled sweetly and gestured towards her office.

Draco stood for a moment, surely the fates hated him. She was the one person he did not want to see right now after he had scared her off by snogging her, and there was no doubt in his mind that she knew about his condition, knew he was dangerous. "Granger." He spoke somewhere between a question and a statement he was sure she was just at confused as he was.

"Malfoy." She stated back, this was getting more and more awkward the longer he stood and stared at her. Hermione looked over at Melody who was watching so intently that she may as well have a bag of popcorn, she laughed internally. Hermione knew that this was the most exciting thing to happen in the office since someone let pigmy puffs loose in the office as a prank. "Please" She stepped closer to Malfoy, hoping that he would move.

Draco grimaced, Granger was wearing a pencil skirt and a white button up blouse without any frills or ruffles, and a pair of black heels, overall it was a simple professional outfit not at all like the one he had seen her in almost a week ago and yet some how she looked just at good in it. He gave a quick nod and walked into her office.

Overall, it was a small office with a simple desk in the middle and two chairs on the wall facing the desk. Behind the desk in true Granger nature were shelves full of books. While the office itself seemed clean and organized there was an underlying chaos to it, papers were strewn about in some sort of odd orderly fashion. Draco found this curious, how could an office be both tidy and messy at the same time. It wasn't until the door clicked closed that he realized that he was standing rather dumbly in the middle of her office.

"Please take a seat" Her voice had a sense of professionalism to it.

Draco sat down in a confident controlled way, _body language is a tool_ his father taught him _to control the environment without ever saying a word_. So Draco grew up carefully watching the way his father moved and controlled the room, he imitated it at school and found that girls in particular were very receptive to his controlling movements. Not that he thought Granger would be susceptible to the manipulative tactics but he was also taught to never let your guard down, which last time they were in a room alone together, Draco failed miserably at.

Hermione eyed Draco carefully, as she sat down across from him, he was almost unnerving in his confident air, but she wouldn't let that mess with her. The Malfoy men were all mind games, she knew that and she was not about the get played. "So." She started, "I'm sure you know why you're here." Hermione pulled out his file and opened it, looking over the notes she had taken. Draco cocked an eyebrow at her but said nothing. She huffed, a little annoyed that he didn't answer her. "Well, we are starting a werewolf protection and awareness program in light of recent events. The Ministry found it important to contact listed werewolves." She continued looking him in the eye and maintaining contact. He remained silent, not breaking his stare. "So I have a few questions for you and then we will go over your security, and talk about necessary precautions you should take."

"Precautions?"

"Yes, there are steps the ministry feels you should take," her voice brisk. "But we'll cover those in a moment." Hermione looked at the first question on her list. _"_ There is some information that I need from you. First, at what phase of the moon were you bitten?"

Draco's smirk fell, he knew there would be invasive questions but she had taken the power from him that he had just gained over her. "I'm supposed to remember what phase the moon was in on the night _I_ was attacked? Tell me Granger, are you this kind to all your victims?"

"It may seem silly to you, Mister Malfoy, however recent studies have found that based on the phase of the moon will determine the potency of the bite, so we find it necessary to ask our _clients_ to assess their overall risk factor." She explained.

Draco rolled his eyes. "It was a half-moon"

"Waxing or waning?" Hermione took more notes, not looking at Malfoy

"Waxing." Draco glared.

Hermione looked up at him with almost a piteous look in her eyes. "Then you have a transformation?"

Draco stiffened. He knew this was going to be a question but he hated that he had to even talk about this entirely. "Yes."

Hermione nodded, jotting down his statement. "Do you find you have consciousness during your transformation?"

Draco eyebrow twitched. "Doesn't everybody?"

Hermione sighed with some relief. "No," she answered simply. "According to what we have found those who have been bitten during a complete full moon lose all consciousness during their Transformations. People who are bitten prior to a full moon tend to still have transformation, however have more consciousness the closer they were bitten to the half-moon. Those bitten on the half, have the most consciousness." She trailed off. "Finally individuals bitten after the full moon when it is in a waning state tend not to see transformation period."

Draco watched her intensely. "So the waxing half moon seems to be the cut off for the transformations?"

Hermione nodded. "Not that you probably would have known, but your transformations are far less intense than someone bitten at a full. You still transform yes, however you'd be a smaller, weaker version of the werewolf, which is why we think people bitten on halves maintain consciousness, because the venom doesn't over take your body completely."

Draco sat silent for several moments, it was true he didn't have any werewolf friends to compare notes to, and the only one who had seen him during his transformation was the poor girl in Germany. So Draco had no way of knowing what he actually looked like while transformed.

Hermione hesitated, watching a pensive Malfoy as he mulled over this information. She softly cleared her throat. "Have you attacked someone?

Draco's eyes shot up at her like a bullet train. "Are you accusing me?" he growled from behind his knuckles again.

Hermione bristled this time. "No, it's a question I must ask you in order to learn of any unlisted Werewolves."

Draco leered at her. "And if I had attacked someone? What would you do, throw me in Azkaban?"

"The ministry has yet come to a consensus on what to do with werewolves who attacked while transformed. While we understand you may have consciousness, we also take into consideration that you also have little control in that state," she countered. "Either way, we need to know if there are any other werewolves out there so my question stands, did you attack someone?"

"No," snapped Draco.

Hermione looked over him, she wasn't sure if he was lying or not, and she didn't know if she should press the subject either, he already seemed defensive and it was her job to build up a rapport with him so he would come to her if there was an attack; by him or someone else. "Okay." She decided to move on. "Do you take remedies to help with your transformation and how effective are they?"

Draco relaxed slightly grateful she wasn't pushing the subject. He straightened his head and placed his hand that was holding his jaw on the arm of the chair. "I do, and they make the transformation less painful, shorter and I can sometimes control it."

"Do you have any control without them?" She asked, glad to see him loosen up.

"It's as you said earlier, I know whats going on, but it is impossible to control my actions, the instincts are..." he trailed off. "Overwhelming," he finished carefully.

She stared at him for a moment longer, and then took her note pad again. "Whom have you told of your condition?"

Draco's eyes lingered over her leaning figure as she wrote on her pad. Her hair was pulled up in to a messy bun, while a few loose strands draped over her shoulder, and just a hint of cleavage showed through the undone top button of her blouse, teasing his eyes for more. Even more tantalizing was her smell, to anyone else she wouldn't have any discernible scents, but to him and his enhanced sense of smell he could smell the delicate fragrances of her shampoo, conditioner and soaps, with just a hint of mint that lingered over her breath. He felt a instinct to grab her wash over him, but resisted with all the strength he could must, his nails gripping into the arms of the chairs.

She looked up at him his body visibly tense. "Malfoy? Is something wrong?"

Draco barely hung on to his control. "No," he breathed slowly. "My Mother and Blaise Zanbini."

Hermione gave him a concerned look. "Are you sure?" she asked gently.

"Yes, Granger I know who I've told!" Barked Draco.

Hermione was startled that he just out of no where started yelling at her. "I was actually asking if you're sure you're okay."

Draco breathed heavily, he needed to get himself under control."Yes Granger, I'm fine. Is there anything else you need from me?"

Hermione examined him, now she knew he was lying something had happened in the few moments she looked down to read her other questions but wasn't sure what. "Is there anyone you think might wish harm to you?"

Draco scoffed. "Yeah, most of Wizdaring Society, half think I'm a Death Eater, the other half want me dead for turning on Voldemort. Anything else?"

"I mean serious threats," she implored. "It makes it hard to protect you if I don't know who to protect you from."

"If someone openly threatens me I'll let you know," he growled again, his instincts were like waves, ebbing and flowing over body.

"Fine." Hermione spoke shortly, she then grabbed a galleon from he desk drawer and handed it to Malfoy. "This is a fake Galleon you must carry it on you at all times. If for some reason you find yourself in danger if you spin the outside twice, it will alert me and the Aurors department at once. It clicks when you turn it full circle, if you accidentally spin it and do not need to us to come simply twist it counterclockwise three times. If the ministry feels you're in danger and need protection, the coin will get hot, at which point it will turn in to a port key, to activate the key, spin it clockwise three times and the port key will take you to a safe house. If you do not turn your coin with in a half hour of the warning there is a tracking spell that will activate so the ministry will be able find it, and if you keep the coin on you, you as well." She paused, not sure if he was listening because he had not looked at her once while she was explaining it.

"Okay." Draco snatched the coin from the desk. "That it?" he asked, irritated at himself for his lack of composure.

"I need to check the Wards on your house, but yes for now that's it." She replied apprehensively

"Send an owl." And with that Draco got up and left the office, leaving Hermione confused.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Hermione rolled over Malfoy's actions over in her head until into the next day, she was baffled by his sudden irritation and swift exit. One moment they were having a seemingly civil and productive conversation, she went to make a note and when she looked up he was tense and hostile. She had no idea what happened in those few moments that she looked away from him. She also couldn't help but notice that he never even acknowledged their last encounter, was he possibly so sloshed that he had no idea what he said or did? Was the entire thing some intoxicated mistake? She was sitting at her desk working on some more files after her meeting with her fifth client that week, Melody was setting up the residence inspections for the following week. Hermione didn't even look up when someone knocked on her door and she called them in, it wasn't until the man cleared his throat that Hermione looked up form her paper work. "Harry!" She stood up to greet him.

"Hey Hermione, I was wondering if you wanted to get lunch?" he wondered looking over the overwhelming stacks of paper on her desk.

"Oh, Harry, you'd know I'd love too.."

"Hermione, seriously, you work too hard sometimes, besides it been a while since we talked." He admonished.

Hermione sighed; it was true, she had a tendency to work herself in to stupors. "Fine, let me..." Harry gave her a cross look, his emerald eyes daring her to finish her sentence. Hermione sighed "Okay, okay. Where do you want to go?"

Harry smiled proudly. "I hear there's a new cafe in the alley we need to try." Harry held out his elbow her for her.

She smiled softly and her grabbed her cloak on the way out of her office, slipping her hand into the crook of his arm. "Melody, I'm going out for lunch, I should be back in an hour." Harry glowered at her again. "Fine." She chuckled. "Two hours."

"I'll let Mr. Bateman know you're taking an extended lunch." Melody smiled.

Harry lead Hermione out of her department and to the Atrium, where they would walk through muggle London to Diagon Alley, one of the things Hermione loved about Harry was that he enjoyed seeing the muggle world as much she did. "So." Harry started once they were on the busy streets of muggle London. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Hermione said simply.

Harry gave her a unbelieving look. "Come on, Hermione, you might be able to get Ron to believe that, but I know you better."

"You think you know me better than a man I was going to marry?" Hermione scoffed, but Harry gave her a knowing smile. "Fine." She laughed. "We were never going to work out, were we?"

Harry shook his head. "You know Ron's my best mate, but when he told me he was going to purpose, and told him not to."

Hermione looked up in shock. "What? Seriously? You knew back then"

Harry nodded this time. "Yea, I mean I knew he had a thing for you and you had a thing for him while we were hunting, and then you kissed him at the battle, but I knew it wouldn't last. You guys were just caught up in the moment, but then you guys dated through eighth year and I thought that, you know, maybe I didn't know you as well as I thought I did." He sighed. "That about when you guys had that big fight before graduation, you remember the one where he got so pissed that he tried to start a fight with Malfoy after hours. That's when I knew. When you guys finally made up he started talking about purposing, he said those few days without you made him realize he couldn't live without you."

Hermione leaned her head into Harry's shoulder, both of her hands in the crook of he arm now. "I had no idea."

Harry chuckled. "Ron was already upset at my lack of faith in you guys, I didn't want you mad at me too. I've learned that I can only handle one of you mad at me at a time."

Hermione laughed. "So why do you think we didn't work out?" Her curiosity peaking.

Harry looked up at the horizon with a very pensive look etched on his features. "Well, I think part of it was because you never really got over him leaving us."

Hermione nodded, she never forgave Ron for that, and never trusted him to stick around after he just left. She spent a lot of their relationship walking on eggshells so he wouldn't just up and leave again.

"And," Harry continued, "I don't think he could keep up with you. We both know Ron has his moments, but you need more than just moments, I think."

Hermione looked up at Harry, never had anyone said that she and Ron weren't a good fit, when they did split half of the wizdaring London lost their mind from surprise. Everyone was convinced that they would have and happily ever after. "Thanks Harry." She pecked him on the cheek. "Sometimes I think you're the only person who actually understands me."

"Yea, so now, tell me what's been wrong with you," he said pulling open the door to the Leaky cauldron.

Hermione slipped inside and headed towards the back to the brick wall to the Alley, Harry following closely behind. "Hermione," he reminded as they entered the back room.

"Oh, Harry." She sighed again, tapping the bricks so they would spring to life, opening up into the bustling street of Diagon Alley. She stepped out on to the street and hooked her hands into Harry's arm again. "I want to tell you, I do really. But I'm just not sure what to think yet."

"So tell me and I might be able to help you figure it out."

Hermione nibbled on her lip, Ginny, Harry's wife, knew, and she handled the information well enough. Besides, with Malfoy not even acknowledging the incident, it seemed that it was a fluke, and what was wrong with telling Harry if nothing would come of it. "Okay." Harry led her to a small cafe not far from the entrance to the Alley and they waited to be seated.

"Do you remember the Battle Ball that Narcissa Malfoy had last weekend?" Hermione tentatively asked looking at Harry.

Harry nodded, as the hostess walked them to their table. "Anything to drink?" The young witched asked.

"Water, please." Harry said, and Hermione nodded in agreement as the hostess handed them their menus.

"Well." Hermione's apprehensively played with the menu. "Apparently Malfoy has come back from his travels."

Harry looked at her curiously, his eyebrows knitting together. "Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione nodded. "I had no idea either, and when Narcissa greeted me he appeared from no where and took my hand a kissed it."

Harry's expression was a mix of shock and frustration. "What?" His voice. "Hermione what did he say to you?"

"That's just it, he didn't say anything horrible." She looked down at her lap. "And then later this man I was talking to called Malfoy over and insisted we dance together saying we need to let the past stay the past." Hermione looked up to see Harry sitting stiffly

Just then their waitress interrupted. "Hello. What can I get you two today?" She smiled sweetly.

Harry snapped out of his trance and quickly looked over the menu ordering their special for the day while Hermione ordered and Caesar salad with chicken. "Did you dance with him?" Harry impatiently asked when the waitress left.

"Yes, he agreed to dance before I had a chance to say anything, and he lead me to the dance floor. When we started dancing, I asked him what he was up to, and he said that he was simply asked to dance with me and it would be rude to turn the old man down. I persisted because I knew the Malfoy _we_ know would never ever touch me let alone dance with me but he got really frustrated and left me on the dance floor." Hermione started to blush, thinking about how she was going to tell Harry about what happened next.

"He didn't call you anything? He wasn't cruel to you? I mean, it was rude to leave on the dance floor like that, but for Malfoy that was almost civ..." Harry trailed off watching Hermione turn darker and darker shades of red.

"That's not all." She whispered sheepishly, Harry continued to stare at her, waiting for her to finish her story. Hermione took a deep breath. "Well when he left, I had just asked him why he was acting the way he was, so I followed because I really wanted to know." The waitress dropped off their waters, and Hermione took a small sip, Harry waited. "So I followed him to a dining room." She chewed on her lip harder now. "And I confronted him, then he told me that the only reason he acted the way he did was because his father beat him, and that he's always admired me." Hermione rolled her head back as she began to ramble at this point. "And then out of nowhere he kissed me, and not like a sweet soft kiss, but a hot fiery kiss, a passionate kiss. Then he picked me up and laid me down on the table." Hermione rolled her head back to glance at Harry who had a look of horror. "But I stopped him and left before it went beyond snogging." Her voice trying to calm Harry. "Harry?" she asked softly.

"He snogged you?" Confusion now taking Harry over.

"Yes," she replied, silently thanking the waitress who was dropping off their food now.

Harry simply gaped at her. "Hermione... I don't even know what to say."

"Neither do I," Hermione breathed. "Then I saw him yesterday, and he didn't acknowledge it or anything so now I really don't know. Harry, I'm so confused." She was simply pushing olives around her plate, eating now the last thing on her mind.

"You saw him yesterday?" Harry finally coming around enough to pick up the sandwich he ordered and taking a bite.

"Yea, he came in for a meeting and we were actually having productive civil conversation, then I looked away for two seconds and when I looked back he was tense and harsh and left as soon as he could." She finally took bite of food herself looking back at Harry.

"Why did you have meeting with Malfoy?" Harry's face confused again.

Hermione froze. The Aurors office was supposed to offer security to her clients but she wasn't sure how confidential the files and the clients were yet. She knew Harry would know eventually, but she wasn't sure if she was the one who could tell him, especially considering Malfoy's attitude over the subject. "I can't tell you." She told him softly. "I'm sure you'll find out soon, but I can't tell you." She frowned.

His look became very skeptical now. "Okay..." His eye narrowed.

"Harry, it's nothing to do with you. Like I said, I'm sure someone will tell you soon, our offices are working closely on it. I just can't." Hermione reached across the table and stroked his hand softly. "You can come talk to me about it after they tell you, I'm sure you'll want to talk about it."

Harry squeezed her hand a returned to his food. "What are you going to do about him then?"

"I honestly don't know at this point, I think possibly he was just smashed and doesn't remember any of it." She took another bite now focusing on her food.

"Did he seem smashed?"

Hermione paused, no, he didn't seem drunk, she didn't smell alcohol on him either, and now that she thought about it, he didn't even have a drink in his hand when he walked over. "I don't know, I hope so."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Draco breathed in the cool crisp morning air, it was just past dawn as he stood on the empty Quidditch pitch, he had agreed to come to the weekly game that Blaise and Theo played with. There weren't many things that Draco missed while he was traveling, but flying and playing Quidditch had been one of the few things he did miss. He closed his eyes and soaked up the morning rays, listening to the birds chirping in the distance, he took and deep breath and mounted his broom and pushed off, cool air rushing past his ears. He hovered high in the air, eyes still closed as he rolled his head back and outstretched his arms. It had been so long since he had been on a broom and almost twice as long since he had played Quidditch, he wondered how rusty his seeker skills would be. He opened his eyes to greet a slowly rising sun and he wrapped his hands around his broom, he wanted to put his new Nimbus 3000 through its paces. It was the newest of the nimbus line and the shop keeper promised unbelievable speed. He leaned only slightly forward and the broom surged forward at a breakneck pace, and before he realized what happened he had zoomed past the hoops on the far side of the pitch. Draco let up and the broom reacted, quickly yielding. Draco smiled. _Bloody brilliant._ He then took the broom in to some deep dives and fast turns, thoroughly impressed with the its sensitivity to his slightest movements. He would need practice before he adjusted to the new _broom_ , but that's also why he showed up extra early for the match. Draco spent an extra hour on the broom adjusting to the sensitivity. It wasn't until he heard his name called that he realized he had an audience, he flew down to greet who he assumed was Blaise and Theo.

"Draco!" Called Theo as Draco landed down on the ground, walking over and grasping Draco's hand slamming it into his chest and taking his other hand slapping Draco's back.

Draco returned the greeting. "Theo, been a long a time."

Theo laughed. "Well, that happens to be because one of us took off after graduation."

Draco scoffed and nodded. "I needed to get the hell out of doge."

"Hey, I'm not saying I don't get it, but it's been three years, man. Though from what Blaise told me, it sounded like a tour de women, and I don't think any self respecting man would begrudge you for that." Theo laughed loudly.

Draco gave Blaise a side eye. "Well I promise that was neither the intention nor the only activity I did."

"Eh, I don't think it matters if it was the intention, mate." Theo smirked. "No, but really it good to see you, after the war it seemed like all of our classmates disappeared." He sighed a serious tone taking over.

Draco nodded. "Well, I'm sticking around this time, so I hope you got plenty of women while I was gone." Draco smirked and cocked his head. "Cause they'll be too busy with me for now on."

Theo threw his head back laughing, and Blaise chuckled. "Ah, it seems everyone is starting to show up," Blaise chimed in, looking at the center of the field where people were starting to aparate in. Blaise started introducing Draco to the other players. Some of them worked with either Blaise or Theo, others were from other prominent pure-blood lines, most had graduated after Draco, but all of them were Slytherin.

The game went on for several hours and it was intense, unlike playing with other houses at Hogwarts, playing with Slytherins was a game of cunning not just speed and talent. Other houses played with rules and morals and complained when Slytherins broke them, however here on this field playing dirty was half the fun, people were knocked off brooms run into blugders; anything to get the upper hand. Yet, everyone walked away laughing, cheering and jeering each other on. Draco decided this was one of the best games he ever played.

Half way through the match a nagging feeling came over Draco, like someone else was there watching them play, though he looked several times for by standers he never found any. The burrowing feeling of someones eyes in him lingered, Draco tried to shrug off the feeling, it could have just been one of the other players watching him. He had just come back to London after disappearing for a few years, people were bound to be curious about his return.

Draco was sweaty, muddy and beat to all hell when he apparated back to the mansion, once through the door he started stripping off his Quidditch gear. "Mother, I'm back!" He called through the manor, he was he was about to pull off sweat soaked under shirt, when he strode in to the sitting room where he found his mother giving him a reproachful look at his state of undress, and Granger with a blush reaching up her cheeks. Draco scowled "I wasn't aware we were having guests, Mother." He pulled back down his shirt which he had about half way up and re-buttoned his pants as looked at Granger.

"Draco, this does happen to be my resicdence and I may have guests without your express permission." His mother's voice taught.

Draco ran a hand through his sweat soaked hair. "You don't need my permission mother, it would be nice to have a heads up though." His voice terse, yet he had noticed that Grangers eyes had not moved off him since he entered the room. When her eyes finally traced up to meet his, Draco gave her a mischievous look, Granger turned a darker shade of red and whipped around to look the other direction. "I'm sorry to interrupt your tea time, I'm off to shower, please don't stop because of me." Draco walked over to his mother and kissed her on the cheek catching Granger's eyes. Draco was sure she was going to have whiplash before she left with how fast she kept looking away from him.

As Malfoy walked out of the room Hermione took another sip of tea. "Anyways, as I was saying. Narcissa, I'm so sorry for leaving the ball so early, I was not feeling well." She continued as she placed her tea on the table in front of her.

"I appreciate you taking time out of you busy schedule to speak to me about it." Narcissa smiled. "You are such a kind woman."

Hermione nodded, "Well thank you. However it was terribly rude that I left so abruptly and without explanation, I can't tell you how ashamed I am."

"The fact that you came to apologize in person speaks volumes, Hermione." Narcissa assured her. "Now do tell me how are things at work? I keep hearing so many things."

Hermione smiled and held the conversation, her mind however kept wandering back to the sweaty muddy Malfoy that interrupted them. Cursing herself for letting her eyes linger on him long enough that he noticed. Watching his finger slip under the fabric of his shirt and glide over ab muscles that Hermione had imagined before, noticing the deep _V_ shape the plunged below his unbuttoned trousers. Hermione shook the tantalizing thoughts from her head and focused her attention on Narcissa. Feeling the blush raise in her cheeks again.

"Darling, are you sure everything is okay?" Naricassa softly asked. "You keep flushing, are you unwell?"

Hermione violently shook her head, "No, I'm fine I assure you." She swallowed.

Naricissa eyed her carefully, "Perhaps you need some fresh air. Ah, Draco perfect, would you please escort Hermione outside? I think she needs some fresh air, show her the gardens, they are very lovely."

Hermione's eyes were the size of dinner plates. She had not even heard Malfoy come back in to the room.

"Of course, mother." Malfoy walked over to where Hermione was and offered her and hand to stand up.

Hermione just stared at him, he smelled of fresh soap, and now he was wearing simple white button up shirt with the first few buttons undone,(this seemed to be how he preferred to wear his shirts) and black trousers again. _This is probably how Malfoy dresses casually._ Draco cleared his throat still holding a hand out for her, Hermione took his hand suddenly very grateful she wore a nice sun dress for tea with Narcissa.

"Follow me." Malfoy instructed her as he walked out of the room, Hermione nodded at Narcissa as she left with Malfoy.

She followed Malfoy through a few other rooms until they came to a sun room on the back of the Manor that opened up into the garden. Malfoy opened the door for her, then followed her out to the garden. The air was thick of floral scents, Narcissa had been right, Hermione's head did feel clearer in the fresh air. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, just taking in the warmth on her skin and the smell of the garden. She heard Malfoy's steps come to a halt next to her, clearly he was waiting for her to move before proceeding.

Draco looked over Granger, she was wearing a knee length white dress with a watercolor floral pattern on the hem of the skirt that stretched half way up the skirt itself. The bodice was a plain white with another boat neck cut and sleeveless. It was a simple but beautiful dress. Her hair was pulled back in to a simple ponytail, wild curls still everywhere but more contained than when she let her locks loose. Draco ached to touch her again, but refrained with all his might, instead he just watched her absorbing the sun, the soft breeze playing delicately with her curls.

Hermione opened her eyes surprised to see him looking intently at her, she locked eyes with him. She wanted to ask him everything, she wanted to ask him about that night, why he had left so abruptly the other day, why he was staring at her now. No words came, however, she just stood there looking at him waiting for one of them to break eye contact, but they didn't they just stared at each other for what felt like forever.

Finally Draco broke the silence though he felt he could stare in to her eyes for hours, anyone in passing would see this staring contest extremely odd. "This way." He held his arm out gesturing ahead of them Breaking eye contact to bow his head slightly.

Hermione looked over him skeptically, if you had told her even a month ago she would be taking a garden tour with Draco Malfoy she would have been in stitches, but here she was. Hermione nodded and stepped forward and they walked side by side in silence for a long time. Finally she conjured some of her Gryffindor bravery. "So you left our meeting very quickly the other day." She didn't make eye contact with him.

Draco looked down at his feet, he knew she'd ask him eventually. "Sometimes the heighten senses become overwhelming." He paused. "I had to leave and collect myself."

Hermione nodded, she had figured that was the reason for him leaving so quickly but usually the overwhelming senses were accompanied by an influx of adrenaline or hormones, a need to fight or mate. Hermione breath hitched "Were you in danger?"

Draco looked up at her with a look of confusion. "What?"

"Our research shows that heighten senses in werewolves happens when they are in danger, or aroused." She said simply.

Draco stopped in his tracks, damn her and her brain. He had been hoping to avoid the subject since she had so clearly denied him last time. "I told you, Granger." He gritted through his teeth sacrificing some his pride by admitting his rejection.

Hermione stopped and turned around to look at him critically. _Does he remember that night?_ "Told me what?"

Draco clenched his jaw frustration rising in his composure. "Playing dumb, Granger, is not a good look on you."

Hermione crossed her arms defensively "I'm not playing dumb, Malfoy. I'm just trying figure out if we're talking about the same thing."

Draco glared at her, how much more did she want from him? He'd already confessed his unnatural, unyielding attraction for her did she expect him to grovel for her graces, he may have been hopelessly attracted to her but there was somethings he was not willing to do sacrificing all of his dignity was one of them. Then a thought dawned on him. "How drunk were you?"

Hermione eyebrows knitted together. "How drunk were you?"

"So you do remember." He stepped closer to her.

"I thought it was just a drunken confession and conquest." She watched him carefully.

Draco considered her for a long moment, deciding he was going to have to sacrifice more pride. "I meant every word, and you rejected me." He said slowly.

He wasn't wrong, she had run out on him, thus rejecting him, she hadn't meant it as rejection though. Maybe at the time she did, but now she just wanted more information. "You caught me very off guard. Last time I checked you hated me for my blood and then you come out of no where with _that?"_ She paused. "Forgive my panic, but I had no idea if you were being honest."

Draco stepped closer again he felt that electric buzz he had felt between them the night of the ball. "Do you believe me now?"

Hermione realized how close he was when she could feel the fabric of his shirt brush against her folded arms, she didn't move away from him. "I can't just believe you. You spent years, years Malfoy, belittling me. Fought on the side of the war that wanted me killed for being muggleborn. You called me reprehensible names, said you hoped that I would be killed by the basilisk."

"I know!" Draco growled at her and stepped away from her, his temper now boiling. "I know, Granger. I was horrible, I was a prat. I get it! You have no reason whatsoever to trust me, or to believe anything I say. But I told you I had to say that shit because I needed to stay alive. And all that Basilisk shit, I knew what my dad was doing, I knew his plot, how else do you think that page on the basilisk page randomly showed up in your bag? I was trying warn you, I had been trying to warn and scare you all year to leave. I didn't want you to die, Granger. And then you went off and got yourself petrified, and Tweedledum and Tweedledee hovered over your bed all the damn time. I crashed my broom so I could come and see you, make sure you were okay, and apologize."

Hermione felt her breath leave her. "How did you know about the page? Only Harry, Ron, and I knew that."

Draco threw his hands up in the air and stomped away from her, turning to face her after a few paces. "I literally just told you, Granger, I ripped it out of a book at Flourish and Blots and kept it all year waiting for the right time to slip it to you. Then Potter got that stupid cupid-gram and in the commotion of everyone laughing themselves to tears I slipped it in to your bag."

Hermione jaw dropped. No one except the her, Harry, and Ron had known about the page and when Harry and Ron asked her where she got it, she told them the library, but the truth was she had found it at the very bottom of her bag and she had no idea where it came from. "Thank you."

This caught Draco off guard, he was expecting her to through it back in his face call him a liar. "Well, I didn't want to see you hurt. I hated it when I hurt you, I couldn't let my father hurt you too."

Hermione closed the distance this time. "Well without you, I don't know if I would have figured it out before someone died." She looked down at her feet. "There are just so many things I need to know, Malfoy"

"I know. I wasn't expecting this to be easy." Draco chuckled softly. "I was actually surprised you didn't Avada me when I kissed you."

Hermione smiled and nodded. "Three years ago I would have in a heartbeat"

"What changed?" he asked daringly, softly playing with her hand.

"I don't know." She smiled at him. "Maturity? Time?" Dropping her hand so he could hold it.

Draco smiled and nodded. "Look, I'm sorry for how terrible I was to you."

Hermione looked at him seriously her hand in his. "Thank you, but I still need time, I have so many questions."

Draco looked at her warily, he wanted to answer her questions, he really did, but he just didn't know how much pride he'd have to give up to convince her he wasn't completely evil. "Let me take you out."

Hermione was taken aback, it wasn't a question but more of a demand. "Do I get a choice?"

Draco chuckled and looked at her softly. "Do you really want one? Let me take you out, and you can ask me whatever you want."

Hermione considered him for a long long moment, did she want a choice? The feminist in her screamed that she always had choice that she was proud, strong and that no man was ever aloud to demand anything from her. A smaller quieter side of her, however, found the demand sexy, his forceful masculine power teased the instinctual side of her. "Fine." She conceded. "Some place low key, I don't want the tabloids pasting our faces everywhere."

"Done." Draco agreed, he had never expected her to accept, he wanted her to, but he was sure her pride wouldn't allow for such things. Draco smiled to himself as a seed of hope sprouted in his chest, a feeling that he had long since forgot.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry that I missed last week's update, but I went on vacation with family, and some how the laptop was left behind. So to make up for it, this week you're getting two chapters! YAY! Sorry I suck! As for some of the comments, please know that I have read them and I really am doing my best to find a beta, but I keep coming up short. So if you have any suggestions or recommendations for a beta please PM me. For now, know that my husband and I are doing the best we can to make it the best story possible. We go over each chapter at least three times each to try and catch everything, but it's been a while since either of us took our college level writing courses so we may miss some things. I'm very thankful that you guys are being so kind and lenient with me, and thank you so much for you reviews, I very much appreciate them!**

 **Chapter 11**

Draco ran his hand through his hair as the whoosh of green fire that was Hermione faded into an empty fireplace. He sighed deeply. After agreeing to go out with him, Hermione had made an excuse to leave and once she thanked his mother for tea, Draco had escorted Hermione to the floo.

"Well, that went much better than it did last time."

Draco looked over his shoulder to find his mother in the archway, sipping on some tea. "And what would you mean by that, Mother?" Draco slipped his hands into his pockets and shifted to look at her.

"Well, last time you two were in this house alone, both of you stomped off and one left without so much as a goodbye." She sipped her tea again with a nonchalance.

"Mother, she specifically came to apologize for that," Draco stated with a calm tone with a hint of edge to it.

"I'm well aware, and I have forgiven her. I'm merely stating that this visit went superb in comparison to her last visit." Naricissa smiled softly.

"Mother, just say it. My brain is shot from playing games with Granger, I can't think straight right now." The hint of frustration now growing in his voice.

Narcissa smiled at her son, she loved him with everything she was, he was possibly the only thing she truly loved in her life. "I knew perfectly well why her skin kept flushing. It's no secret she finds you attractive."

Draco peaked an eyebrow. "Oh, and am I to believe you orchestrated our last encounter too?"

Naricissa gave coy smile and sipped her tea again. "I may hinted that you two had issues yet to be resolved, and Mr. McHale is such old friend to the Malfoy family. I knew he would try to convince you to talk. The dancing was a bit of a surprise, the bigger shock was when she followed you when you stormed off. After that I truly have no idea what happened, but by the way she left I was to assume it did not end well. That did give me a good reason to owl her my regrets for not seeing her before she left, she was the one who asked to come to tea. I did not intend for you to come in filthy and half dressed, but it did seem to work in your favor."

Draco eyed his mother carefully. "Why would you go to the trouble of any of this? She was always below our blood status growing up."

Naricissa's smile faded, her face etched with regret. "She was below your father." She moved in closer to him. "Your father tried to beat it out of you, but I feared your affections would only deepen." She placed a delicate hand on his cheek, a weak smile crossing her lips. "When you stopped talking about her altogether, I thought perhaps your father was successful. A few years later, at the world cup, when you went out of your way to find them in the woods, I was suspicious. During the war when she was brought here, the look of horror on you face, paired with the fact that you didn't fully admit it was them, I knew. I knew that you had just suppressed your feelings."

Draco raised his hand to his mother's and gave it a squeeze. "I don't deserve her, Mother. It is a fool's journey to try and pursue her." He looked down with a heavy heart.

"You deserve goodness Draco. Your life has been cruel, you have been forced into things that no one ever should be forced into. Your childhood was robbed of you and you spent all of your academic years in fear. You deserve, after everything you've been through, the sacrifices you have made, to be happy. She is goodness, Draco, she makes you happy. You deserve at least a chance." Naricissa gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I failed to protect you, shield you from the horrors of evil, the least I could do is help you to happiness now." She stepped back and left the room, leaving her son to contemplate his worthiness.

* * *

Hermione stepped into her living room in a sort of dazed state. She had told Malfoy that she had work to catch up on, it wasn't necessarily true, she had completed everything she needed done by Monday already, but there was always still work to do. Mostly, she just need to get out of his stony stare to think. She plopped herself down on the couch, her head swimming. Then it occurred to her, she stood up and grabbed more floo powder, but this time she called out the address to Grimauld place. She stepped in to the sitting room to find James racing around he room with a towel tied around his neck on a play broom pretending to play Quidditch. "Auntie Hermeny!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

Harry came into the room a few moments later with surprised look on his face. "Hey, Hermione." He walked over and gave her a hug. "Were we expecting you? Ginny didn't mention having anyone over for dinner."

On cue, Ginny walked in to the living room, drying her hands on an apron she was wearing. "Harry!" She admonished. "You didn't tell me that Hermione was coming for dinner." Ginny gave Hermione a look over. "You look wonderful in that dress, did we forget something special?"

"No." Hermione smiled nervously. "I actually just came from the Malfoy's and I just need to talk it through. And since both of you know it made sense to come here."

Harry swiped James up from what was his fourth lap around the room since Hermione had arrived, and gave Ginny a look. Sometimes Hermione swore that Harry and Ginny could communicate telepathically and just had not shared the secret with the rest of the world yet. "James," he looked at his small son, "why don't you go play in your room a bit?"

"No! I see Hermeny!" James angrily yelled.

"If you speak to an adult like that again, you won't see anyone." Harry scolded. The small three year old huffed but when he was put down again, he moped off to his room. Harry had really gotten a hang of this parenting thing. Harry looked up at Hermione and gestured. "Well, we're in the kitchen preparing dinner, come join us."

Hermione smiled and followed them to the kitchen. Ginny had done a lot to Grimauld Place, it felt like a warm cozy home that any family would love to raise kids in. Hermione sat at the counter and she watched Ginny stir something in a pot and Harry chop up some vegetables.

"So?" Ginny questioned turning around to look at Hermione, her voice expectant.

"So I went to talk to Naricissa to apologize for leaving the ball early, and then in walks Malfoy sweaty, muddy and half dressed in Quidditch gear, he must have been playing with some friends or something. Though I must have to admit in all my years watching you guys play, you have never come back that beat up. Yes, broken arms and stuff before, but Malfoy looked like he had been playing rugby he was so beat up."

Ginny looked confused, and Harry clarified for her. "It's a full contact muggle sport where they wear no padding. It gets pretty gruesome."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "So anyways, he comes in all beat up and muddy and was totally caught off guard by the fact that I was there. But he takes off to shower and I thought that was the last I would see of him." Hermione paused, she wasn't sure how she was going to say this next part. "However, Naricissa start saying that I flushed-looking and that I needed some air. So she called Malfoy back and asks him to take me out to the garden. We just walked in silence for a time but I finally asked him why he left the so suddenly the other day. Then we got into this conversation about how he has secretly had a crush on me for years, and how he did all these things to help me. Then he asked me out on a date!" Hermione looked up from the point on the counter that she had been staring at during her rant to find both Harry and Ginny looked dumbfounded.

Harry was first to break out of his vex. "How did he help you?"

Hermione looked at him with worried pleading eyes. "Harry, he knew about the Basilisk page and said he's the one that slipped it in my bag."

"You said you got that from a library book." His face contorted with confusion again.

"I lied. I didn't know what to tell you guys. Besides, if I had found it in a book, number one I would have never just ripped the page out, and number two I would have just signed the book out and taken the whole thing."

Ginny sputtered in this time. "W..w..wait what page?"

Hermione turned to Ginny. "Just before I was petrified, instead of going to the Quidditch game, that day I decided to go to the library and do more research. I had found something interesting and wanted to write it down but I couldn't find my quill in my bag so I turned it over. Instead I found what looked like a note, I opened it up and it ended up being a page from some book about the basilisk. Reading over it I realized that this was the monster in the chamber."

"But she never made it to us. It wasn't until later that we found the crumpled up paper in her hand that that we figured out what it was," Harry finished for Hermione. "But we never told anyone how we figured it out, no one knew about the page, except us." Harry was back to looking dumbfounded again.

"But he was so, so cruel to you, Hermione," Ginny cut in this time.

"I know, but he said that year he was trying warn me or scare me off, that he didn't want me hurt." Hermione's voice was now trembling. "The rest of the time, he was afraid of being abused because he had feelings for me," Hermione reminded them. She looked between them, and they were speaking to each other non-verbally again.

Harry turned to Hermione again. "Hermione, I'm sorry, but he's just bad news. He's always been bad news."

Hermione felt anxiety welling up in her. "You don't think I know that?" She took a shaky breath. "He was deplorable at Hogwarts, and now he's coming out of nowhere asking me to forgive him and go out on a date with him!" She felt a rogue tear spill from her eye. "I just don't know what to do. Part of me is terrified that this is just some big joke, that he is just trying to mentally torture me. Then the other part of me says that he was just caught on the wrong side of the war. He didn't have a choice in what side he was on, his father brainwashed him from a young age and then when Voldemort did come back, he had to choose the side his parents were on, else wise they would kill him. What was he supposed to do? Leave his mother at the hand of his abusive father and a mass murdering lunatic?" Hermione was breathing heavily now.

Harry walked around the counter and hugged Hermione, he felt her cry in to his shoulder for a few moments. Harry knew they were tears of frustration. "Hermione, I'm just worried for you."

Hermione leaned back and looked at Harry still between his arms her hands resting on his chest, "I know, thank you. I'm worried too. I just don't know what to do. I want to believe him, I do. I just don't know if I can."

Ginny cleared her throat and Hermione realized then that she and Harry were holding each other too intimately for Ginny's comfort. Harry let go of Hermione and stepped back. Harry and Hermione had become so close over the years that sometimes they didn't realize that some of the things they did were too _familiar_. They were so comfortable with each other that it slipped their minds that they need to have healthy boundaries so they wouldn't violate their romantic partners. It was just so easy for them to slip in to the intimate space that they had built together during the war.

Ginny handled it well most of the time, clearing her throat when she saw Harry and Hermione slipping into their world. The scars that Harry and Hermione bore, Ginny would never truly understand, and the trust Ron would never be able to gain back hung heavily over over their perspective relationships. Just after the war, Ginny was uncomfortable with Harry and Hermione's closeness. Ginny and Harry would get into massive fights over Hermione, and Harry would need to take breaks from Hermione to give Ginny sometime to cool down. Hermione didn't blame Ginny at all, she could only imagine what it was like to have a husband who at times seemed emotionally more in tune with his best friend than his wife.

However poorly Ginny handled it, she was still miles and miles ahead of Ron. When Ron and Hermione were together, Ron would become unreasonably jealous at the drop of a hat. Not without good reason however. Immediately after the war, Hermione and Harry would both have night terrors, and neither of them sought Ron for comfort. Frequently Ron would wake up in the middle of the night to find Harry and Hermione calming each other, sometimes it was as simple as hot coca until the the panic subsided, other times it was long walks, but most of the time it was close contact and cuddling that would ground them back to reality. Ron would become so jealous, saying that even when it came to his girlfriend he took a back seat to _the Boy That Lived._ Their rows over the subject would last hours and hours and inevitably Hermione would end up crying and Ron would stomp out of the room until he cooled off.

Harry smiled softly at Hermione, realizing that she was lost in her own world again. "So," he waited patiently for snap back to this reality, which she did, "he asked you to dinner?

It took Hermione a moment to remember that _he_ was Malfoy, she chuckled a little. "I wouldn't say asked so much, more of a demand." She watched the anger slowly creep up Harry's face. "Not like that." She sighed at him. "It was more like a _Let me take you out."_ Though that may have been exactly what he said but it really didn't matter.

Harry's look was skeptical. "Are you going to _let_ him take you out?"

Hermione's face went blank. That was the problem, she had already said yes, but she was scared it was the wrong choice. "I said I would," she admitted, "but I don't know if I should."

"I think so." Ginny was stirring the pot again, both Harry and Hermione watched Ginny, waiting for her to elaborate. Ginny turned to look at them, glad to see they had stepped back form each other and she leaned against the counter. "Look, a lot of things have changed since the war. Consider Naricissa for instance, you gave her a chance and now you guys have tea together. How will we ever know if he's changed or not if we don't give him at least a chance?"

Harry gave his wife a wary look and then looked back to Hermione. "As much as I hate to say it, and believe me, after all the shit he pulled I _hate_ to say it, but she has a point."

Hermione looked at the both of them. _I'm going on a date with Draco Malfoy. Merlin's Beard._


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

It was Tuesday afternoon. Hermione had spent all day Monday and this morning going to clients houses, checking wards and reviewing safety information with them. Which brought her to standing outside the gates of the Malfoy Manor again. She had been standing there for at least ten minutes, staring at the stately house. Melody had arranged the visit so she knew she was expected, but a bundle of nerves sat in her chest keeping her from entering the gate. POP! Out of no where a house elf appeared.

"Good day, Miss Granger, I have come to escort you to the manor," the elf chimed bowing low.

"Oh, that's not necessary," Hermione stammered.

The elf looked up at her with a look of confusion. "Sorry, Miss, I was worried you were having problems getting through the gate, you have been waiting here for too long, miss." The elf eyes apologetic.

"Oh no," Hermione soothed the elf. "It wasn't that at all, I just uh..." She didn't have a good reason for standing out here, other than sheer nerves. "Never mind, thank you." She smiled at the little elf. "Tell me what is your name?"

With a swift flick of his hand the elf opened the gate beaming back up at her. "My Name is Tobby, Miss." The little elf ushered her down the long walk, trotting beside her as the approached the Manor.

"And tell me Tobby, do you like working for the Malfoy family?" Hermione knew house elves could only speak well of their families, but she had become good at telling when the house elves were being forced to say good things versus actually meaning it.

"Oh, yes, Tobby loves the Malfoy family very, very much. They are so kind to Tobby and the other house elves." Tobby beamed once again.

That was the truth, she could tell that this house elf was very happy with his house. "How do they treat you, Tobby?"

Tobby thought for a moment. "Well, Madame insists that we take a days off and they treat us kindly."

"Have they always treated you kindly?" Hermione knew this was a loaded question. The Malfoys had not been good to Dobby. Tobby face changed a look of distress now on his face. "You can tell me, Tobby. I work with the ministry and I'm fighting for the rights of house elves."

Horror covered Tobby's face. "Oh please, Miss! Do not take Tobby away! Tobby is happy with the Malfoys. Tobby wishes to stay!" The house elf threw himself at Hermione's feet, wailing loudly.

"No, no Tobby, I'm not going to take you away I just..." Hermione knelt down trying to console the creature.

The door to the Manor pulled open and Malfoy was standing in the entrance, an irritated look on his face. "What the hell did you do to Tobby?!" He yelled as he skipped down the stairs to a sobbing Tobby. "Tobby, what's wrong?" Malfoy helped the elf to his feet and knelt down to look him in the eye.

"Mm..mm.. Miss want to take Tobby away b..bb..because mm..mm..Master Lucius." Tobby choked over his words trying hard to collect himself for his master.

Malfoy shot Hermione a nasty glare. "Tobby, you will not be going anywhere. I assure you. My father is dead and you are happier now, I don't see why the ministry would see the need to remove you," Malfoy assured him.

Tobby nodded numbly. "Tobby will go prepare biscuits and tea for Master and his guest." And with another pop he was gone.

Malfoy stood up and looked Hermione over. "Are you done terrorizing my house elves?"

"It wasn't like that!" Hermione burst out, she was amazed to see Malfoy treat Tobby with such care. "I just asked him if you guys were always so kind to him."

Malfoy sighed. "No, my father was cruel to them, abused them like he abused everything in his life." Malfoy's hands went in to his pockets and his head hung as he looked down at his feet. "My mother was not allowed to raise me like normal mothers are, Lucuis said it was below her to rear children, that's what servants were for. Most of my childhood I was raised by the elves, so I've always had a soft spot for them. My father taught me, however, like many other things in my life..." Malfoy looked up at her. "That house elves were below me, so I took the habit of treating them as such, like I did with everything else he taught me. So no, their lives were not great for a long time, but then my father was thrown in Azkaban and my mother, who had always acted indifferent towards them, started making efforts to improve their lives. I think you actually had something to do with it. She wrote to me about it, and what you were doing, said she thought it was very noble of you to take it on."

Hermione blushed, she didn't often hear of her efforts making a difference, more often than not she was being yelled at for trying to make a difference. "Thank you, that means a lot."

Malfoy smirked. "Good, now come in, but you must promise not to scar anymore of the house elves."

"How many do you have?" The question was out before Hermione could realize that it may be rude to ask.

Malfoy lead her in to the main sitting room and gestured for her to sit down. He went to the bar cart and poured himself what Hermione assumed was whiskey. "Would you like something?" His back still turned to her.

"Oh uh, no, I'm working."

Malfoy turned around and sat in chair across from her. He was once again wearing a simple button up shirt with the top two button undone and blue trousers. "We have six."

Hermione's face was confused, and then she recalled she asked how many elves they had. "Six? That's quite a lot, right?"

Malfoy nodded, swirling his whiskey. "My father thought house elves were a sign of wealth, and when Voldemort and the other death eaters were living here we needed more to keep up with all the tasks. Purebloods refuse to clean and there were close to twenty staying here at the Manor." He took a sip of his drink. "After the war however, when everyone died or was locked up, we decided to keep them, because at least here we knew they would be treated well. Problem is they want and need things to do and there is only so much cooking and cleaning to do here." Tobby popped back in to the room and dropped off the biscuits and tea and popped away without a word. "So they find menial tasks, such as escorting guests to the door, to help fill their time."

"Couldn't you just let them free?" Hermione wondered as she picked up her tea.

"Problem with that is they would just go to another home to work and that home may not be as nice. They have an instinct to serve, Granger. I know that goes against your moral compass, but they can't stand to be free."

Hermione thought back to Winky and how distraught she was after she was dismissed from the Crouch's service, even when she was working for Hogwarts she still was depressed after losing her family. Hermione had hoped that Winky was just overly dedicated. "Well, it's still wrong to abuse them."

"Yes, I agree, but relieving them from good masters who treat them well is just as damaging. You saw Tobby, he was horrified at the mere mention of being taken from us. They have a need to serve," Malfoy countered.

Hermione held her tongue. This was not the reason she was here. "Unfortunately, that is not why I'm here." She finally opened the files that had been in her possession since she arrived. "I have thoroughly looked through your file, and I have some concerns with some people you associate with."

Hermione looked up. If he was offended he didn't show it.

"You're going to dictate who I see now?" Malfoy's voice still even.

"No, there are just some people that we feel you should be cautious of." Hermione paused and waited for an objection, but when none came she continued. "First off, Flora Carrow, her Aunt and Uncle-"

"I know about the Carrow sisters, and I haven't talked to, or seen them, in years. Next." Malfoy cut her off.

Hermione bit her lower lip, she hated to be interrupted, but she moved on anyways. "Gregory Goyle."

Malfoy scoffed. "Some research you did. Goyle disappeared after the battle, with his dad locked up he took off fearing you guys would lock him up next. No one knows where he is."

Hermione nodded and made a note that may come in handy later down the road. "Pansy Parkinson."

"Seriously? Who have you been talking to? Pansy's lovesick with some halfblood from America. She works at the ministry now, I highly doubt she's a threat." Malfoy scoffed.

"She was attacking muggleborns and halfbloods at the battle of Hogwarts. For all intents and purposes, she was considered a death eater," Hermione reminded him.

"Why didn't she get locked up then?"

Hermione went to answer and then realized she didn't have an answer, she made a note to check out Pansy's court case. "Okay then. Theodore Nott."

"Oh come on, you guys know he fought on your side during the battle."

Hermione gave Malfoy a curious look. "What do you mean? We have very little information on Nott during and after the war."

Malfoy looked dumbstruck for a moment. "You guys didn't know?"

Hermione became very short. "Know what?"

Malfoy smiled with a look of smugness from the old days. "Nott, Zanbini, Greengrass and Davis, found a group of underage Hufflepuffs while trying to lead the other Slytherins out of the castle, except they got cut off from going any further because of the battle, so they rushed all the kids back in to the Slytherin common room and defended the kids from there."

Hermione had heard many stories of heroism during the war, but that was not one of them. "I had no idea. That was very brave of them."

"You guys need to do better research, or at least be less prejudiced when it comes to school houses." Smugness was still written all over his face. "Never thought a Slytherin would tell you to be noble, did you?"

Hermione fought back a smile. "Well, I'm surprised you even knew what it meant to be noble," she retorted. She looked down at her paper. "That's all on that list. I need to check your warding now, and we need to close your floo to anyone who isn't immediate family or close trusted friends."

Malfoy stood up. "Well then, I'll escort you around the premises and then we can close the floo networks." He put down his glass and extended his hand to Hermione to help her stand.

She gingerly took it and followed him once again outside. It took the better part of the afternoon to fully ward the massive Malfoy property, most of the time Malfoy just stood back and watched Hermione as she placed her complex wards. Once she completed that they went back inside. He closed the floos and she would place more complex wards.

"That's all the open ones downstairs. There are only a few open ones upstairs I need to close too," Malfoy announced to Hermione as she finished the floo in the office. Hermione nodded and followed Malfoy upstairs where they closed a floo in the Master Suit, and one in the library. "The last one is this way." Malfoy lead her to a new wing of the house and to a large set of oak doors. He opened the door and escorted her through. This seemed to be another lavish room, decorated in a dark green and sliver, with a stunning view of the property out of the massive windows at the back of the room. A large handsome four poster bed sat proudly in the middle of the wall to the left, with a dark green duvet and light gray sheets. Next to the bed hung proudly on the wall was a framed Quidditch robe with _Malfoy_ written across the back with a large number _7_ under it. It dawned on Hermione then that this was Malfoy's room, she could smell his musk hanging in the air. Hermione heart started racing, how in the world did she find herself here!?

"Something wrong, Granger?" Malfoy's cool voice came from behind her.

"Nothing," she said quickly. She spotted the floo on the other side of the room and rushed over, but then realized that she still needed him to actually close the floo since this was not her home. "Uh, I need you to close it." She turned around to find him watching her closely, a small smirk on his face.

He walked slowly to her and stopped just before her, reached his arm out in front of her to preform the spell to close the floo tapping his wand on the bricks. Then he looked down straight in to her eyes, the air vibrating again between them. "There," he breathed.

She could smell his cologne again and the hint of mint on his breath, and for a moment, Hermione was once again trapped in his stare. She stood there, just looking at him, the air around them becoming stifling hot as their bodies buzzed for each other. Malfoy made no moves this time, he just waited patiently for her next action. "Thanks," she whispered as she turned to the fireplace and started her incantation, all the while feeling Malfoy's eyes on her. Once finished, she turned to leave, but instead bumped in to him. "Oh, uh" but she didn't get a chance to say sorry before Malfoy lips met hers.

* * *

Draco had been patient all day, fighting his temptations to touch her again and again, he had purposely saved his floo for last, hoping that he would be given an opportunity. Draco fought with every ounce of control he had to not move when she was staring him in the eyes, but the moment when she turned in to him couldn't resist anymore, his instincts took control and the need to kiss her seared so hot he felt like he was burning alive. Hermione placed her palms against his chest, she broke away from him her forehead leaning softly against his. Draco's heart fell when she pulled away from him.

"Uh, sorry," she softly stammered, taking a step back from him this time, and already his body ached for her. "I, uh, if that's the last one, I should go.." she regained her professionalism.

Draco's eye fell to his feet, slowly shaking his head, his hand now mindlessly rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'll show you out." Dammit, he had done it again and jumped the gun. He's pushed her too far, even though it was considerably less than last time. He gathered what little pride he had left and lead her from his room, taking her to the only open floo left in the house.

"Malfoy." Hermione turned to him just as she was about to step in to the fireplace. She looked like she really wanted to say something. "I'm free Friday evening."

Draco could tell this was not what she actually wanted to say to him, but he had already pushed to many boundaries today, so instead he nodded. "Okay, I'll pick you up then?"

Hermione shifted awkwardly. "Uh, how about I meet you there?"

He huffed with discontent. "Okay, well there's this nice Italian place in muggle London, I'll reserve a table for us and owl you the address."

Hermione eyebrow peaked. "Muggle food?"

Draco bit his tongue, he was becoming very annoyed at her lack in faith in him. "Yes, muggle food. I happen to very much appreciate muggle food, the way they make it takes time and effort and I can taste the difference than food made with magic. Also I figured it would be less likely for people to know who we are in a muggle establishment."

Hermione watched him carefully. "Okay, seven then?"

"Seven is fine, and wear something nice, it's considered fine dining." Draco advised her.

"Oh." She paused. "Malfoy, that's not necessary."

"You haven't had their food then, because believe me, it is." Draco smirked.

"No I meant the fine dining part, you don't need to impress me or anything."

Draco looked at her confused, _impress her?_ "Why on earth would I need to impress you? It's spectacular food, the best outside of Italy, that's why I want to go."

"Look, I know that wealthy people like to..." She trailed off. Apparently he hadn't hid is frustration very well. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"I just wanted to take you out to a nice place with great food, and you translate that in to me being a snob," Draco snapped at her, instantly regretting his tone.

"No, I'm not trying to say you're some snob, I just-" Her voice trailed off trying to think of what to say.

"You just what, Granger?" Draco growled at her. "You just assumed that I wanted to throw money at you to woo you. Is that it?"

He watched the gears in her head turn for a long moment. "You know, I'll just go." She grabbed the floo powder, and with a blaze of green she was gone.

Draco growled with frustration, no matter what he did people seemed to just assume the worst of him. No matter how long he had been gone the remnants of his past clung to him like a fowl smell.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Hermione sighed deeply, the memo in front of her was nothing new to her, and yet she had an almost obsessive need to review every piece of paper placed in front of her. "He's a Werewolf!?" Harry exclaimed as he storming through her office door without warning.

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin from surprise, she felt her skin vibrating from shock and she slapped a hand over her heart. "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think, Harry!" She flicked her wand shutting the door behind him as she gathered herself.

"Hermione, that is important information to have! You just can't neglect to tell me that," Harry stressed as he pressed his hands into her desk.

"I take it you finally got the information that you guys are on werewolf protection duty." Hermione nonchalantly shuffled her papers around avoiding eye contact with Harry. Harry was not often very mad, he was certainly the most evenly tempered of the three of them since Voldemort's fall.

"Hermione, look at me. He's a werewolf," He emphasized again.

"Yes, Harry, I'm well aware. In fact, I'm sure I knew before you did, so I'm not seeing the point in storming in to my office yet." Hermione gave Harry a sharp look.

Harry let out a slow long breath. "Hermione, you can't see hi-"

"I'm sorry, what?" She cut him off. "Why shouldn't I see him?! If I remember correctly we were very close with Lupin, who happened to be a werewolf. You had no issue with him, Harry, never batted an eye about that!" Hermione argued, standing up to be eye level with Harry.

"Lupin was different, Hermione. He had it under control, and he wasn't a Death Eater who hated muggleborns. Malfoy could hurt you!" Harry rounded the desk to stand directly in front of her.

"Really? Because Lupin seemed like he didn't care who he went after in our third year! He attacked his best friend, Harry! He was just as much a danger to me then as Malfoy will be." She placed a hand on her hip, the other still propped up on the desk.

"Hermione, think. What if he's just getting close to you to attack you?" Harry stepped closer to her, a pleading look in his eyes.

"Harry," her voice was softer now, "it's not like that." Though she had not even thought of this option, and while there was some feasibility to it, she instinctively knew that was not Malfoy's intentions, why she knew this, she had no idea. "He never took the Dark Mark."

Harry's pleading eyes shifted as he thought for a moment, Hermione could almost see the gears turning in his head. "No, you-" His voice trailed off. "In the Astronomy tower, you didn't see him Hermione. You weren't there. He-he, was going to kill him. You didn't see that hate in his eyes, Hermione."

Hermione grimaced, there was nothing that she could say to justify Malfoy's attempt at murder. "He didn't, though. You said he hesitated. That's the Malfoy I'm trying to find, the one who didn't kill Dumbledore, the one who didn't rat us out at the Manor."

Harry gave Hermione a pleading look. "Hermione, we saw him in Borgin's, threatening the shop keeper. It had to be the Dark Mark!"

Hermione shook her head. "He never took it." He laid her hand on top of his as his brain churned with the new information. "What we thought we saw that night in Burgin's was Malfoy showing the shop keeper the bite mark. That's why he threatened him with Greyback and not other Death Eaters."

"But why was he bitten?"

"Voldemort was punishing Lucius for not getting the prophecy, it was a very common thing for Voldemort to do. That's why we saw the spike in werewolf bites," she explained.

Harry leaned on to her desk, still turning the information around. "You were right."

Hermione's eyebrows knitted together. "About what?"

"That year, sixth year. I spent the entire year saying he was a Death Eater and you kept telling me to let it go because you said it wasn't true." He thought for a moment. "Wait, how did you know?"

Hermione thought back to sixth year, and sure enough she had spent the entire year fighting Harry over it until the attack on Hogwarts. "I don't honestly know, I just couldn't fathom someone as young as he was, as we were, doing such a thing."

"He was terrorizing us, you called him evil third year. What made you think that he wouldn't?" Harry's brows furled this time.

Hermione thought for a long time. She honestly had no idea why she never believed he took it. "Maybe it was just how broken he seemed that year." She breathed. "You said you found him in the bathroom terrified. If he was truly a Death Eater he wouldn't have been so scared. If he truly believed in Voldemort, he would been excited to take out Dumbledore to get in his favor, I don't think he would have hesitated." The last part seemed more like question than an actual statement.

Harry considered everything for a moment. "Hermione, that doesn't make him any less dangerous."

Hermione leaned against the desk next to Harry. "No more dangerous than Remus, and we trusted him with our lives, Harry, and I don't expect to get that close to Malfoy." She laid her head against Harry's shoulder as a contemplative silence fell between them.

A soft knock broke the air and a tentative Melody poked her head through the door. "The Aurors department has sent for you."

Harry stood up. "Thanks, Melody." He gave Hermione a quick squeeze before he moved to leave.

"Oh, I meant they want to see you both actually," Melody clarified.

"Me?" Hermione questioned. "Did they say for what?" Melody just shook her head and Hermione gave Harry a concerned look as she too stood.

They walked in relative silence, Hermione's head was pounding. Why would the Aurors want to see her? As the lift opened up to the second floor Harry led Hermione to his department and held the door open to the conference room where it seemed almost all the Aurors and their support staff were present. Kingsley was standing at head of the table and looked up at them when they had entered the the room. "Excellent, now let us begin." Kingsley had taken over the head of the Aurors department since the end of the war, though from what Hermione understood he was that only in name. It had been a long understanding that Kingsley was only holding the title while he was Minster to give Harry a few years experience until he would take over. On a day to day, basis Harry was the one who ran the department, which made the fact that he had come to dictate the meeting even more worrisome.

"A report has just come in that there has been more werewolf attacks. We still have information coming in from St. Mungo's, but these ones seem to have the same signs as the attacks that we have seen in the past few months." Kingsley displayed the crimes scene photos on the wall behind him.

Hermione cringed at the state of the victims in the photos. While she had dealt with wounds and injuries before, it never made it easy to seem people hurt and in pain. Her heart always wrenched when she saw the victims in the state of terror.

"However, this time it seemed the assailant was out to make point. He now, officially, has a death toll. In his spree last night he attacked a family." The look on Kingsley's face became very grim. "The victim was Ernie McMillian."

Hermione gasped. "Harry, he was in Hufflepuff!" her whisper harsh.

"I know." Harry grasped her hand to squeeze it.

"McMillian was bitten at the battle of Hogwarts but was managing his infliction well. He eventually married a woman by the name of Jessica." Kingsley motioned to one the pictures on the wall, a simple looking woman with long dirty blonde hair gazed back at the room. "She was allowed to live, the attacker telling her that she needed to be punished for marrying such scum, but he was giving her a second chance to marry better." Kingsley clenched fists and his jaw locked. "He murdered the two children. Maxine and Mathew, telling their mother that their blood was tainted by their father."

A rogue tear rolled down Hermione's cheek. She had no idea that Ernie was even bitten. She honestly had not even thought of him since Hogwarts, and now she was learning that he had made a happy life for himself after the war and then had it ripped away.

"So as you can see these once simple attacks have escalated, so we need to step up our game. Miss Granger, would you please."

Hermione's eyes shot open, but she slowly stood up. "Uh, thank you Minister. At my Department, we have accumulated a list of known werewolves." She looked at Kingsley, what the hell was she suppose to say?! Wasn't this a job for her boss?! "I have reached out to some of our more high profile werewolves and been working on their security measures, and we will be coordinating with you about safety and protection details." She looked at Harry, who nodded back at her, then stood up.

"The way we're going to split this is we will have an investigative team, and then everyone will be assigned to work specifically with a Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures officer who has been appointed liaisons with the werewolves themselves."

Hermione chimed in. "We will be giving out fake galleons to each of the werewolves and each of you as well. They will act as an alert system to you if they feel if they are in danger. Your galleons will be charmed to get hot and whistle when the other is activated, they will also have a locating spell placed on it that way you need only to use it as a port key to get to the werewolf in question."

Harry leaned over to Hermione. "Great idea," he mumbled into her shoulder.

She smiled. "You will get further instructions once you've been assigned. Now there are roughly 200-250 listed and registered Werewolves in the UK itself, which, keep in mind, is about thirty percent more than before Voldemort's return. So we have a lot of people to watch and protect and not a lot of people to do it. So please, be patient and vigilant. We don't more tragedies like the McMillians." Her voice was softer as she finished.

"Thank you, Miss Granger." Kingsley nodded at her. "I have more bad news to share. According to the guards at Azkaban, there was break out last night. Three Death Eaters are missing, Rookwood, Dolohov, and Nott. Some of the guards said that the Carrow twins were the ones to infiltrate Azkaban, and if this is true, then we now know of five active Death Eaters on the loose, not to mention the ones that disappeared during the war. It's very possible that they are aligning again, so I have sent memos to the prophet and other papers warning of the escape and the danger of those who have escaped." The room was silent as a thick feeling of tension fell over them. "So, on top of protecting werewolves, it is important that we capture these escapees and whomever they may be working with and be sure to quash any chance at a rebellion." Kingsley looked over the room. "Okay, get to it." The room erupted and people started leaving the office.

No one wanted to see a third war, no one wanted to live on the edge of their seats wondering if they were going to be next. This new world they were building post-Voldemort was far from perfect, but it was far better than the one they had been living in. "Granger, Potter." Kingsley caught them just at they were about to leave the office. "I hope I don't have to tell you how much danger you two and the Weasley's are in?"

Hermione's shook her head. Of course the three of them would be on the top of the hit list, they were the ones who had brought down Voldemort. Kingsley eyed Hermione. "And I think it may be prudent to be extra diligent with Draco Malfoy."

Hermione looked surprised by this. "I'm sorry?"

"Mr. Malfoy divulged a lot of information on former Death Eaters and was instrumental in putting Nott away. It would not surprise me if they wanted revenge."

Hermione wished more then ever she had the full dictations form Malfoy's trial, she had only received that small excerpt about why and how he was bitten. What did Malfoy have to say that put him at such a risk? Hermione nodded. "Yes, sir. I will inform him personally."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Hermione stood in front of a small Italian place overlooking the Thames river, the place just oozed of money, and Hermione was suddenly concerned her little black dress was not upscale enough. Seeing as she didn't have time to go home and change _again,_ she took a deep breath and walked in. The foyer was dimly lit and beyond she saw chandeliers glitter among white tables. The restaurant was not very big at all. Hermione looked around, there couldn't be more than twenty, maybe thirty, tables in the entire place. Apparently, this was one of those restaurants where you had to know someone to get a table. She stepped up to the Maitre D', a posh looking man in a tuxedo.

"Reservation?" He asked looking over his glasses at her.

"Malfoy?" Her voice timid.

"Of course. This way, please." The man stepped out from behind his podium and led her to the back of the restaurant with large floor to ceiling windows. The view was stunning as the lights of London danced on the river. Sitting at a small table was Malfoy in a three piece charcoal suit and dark blue tie. He immediately stood up when he saw her.

Hermione nodded as the Maitre 'D showed her the table and pulled out her chair for her. She sat down and the man pushed her chair in for her and Malfoy sat back down after she had sat. "You look lovely," Malfoy complimented her.

"Thank you." She looked around the room again. "Malfoy, this place is extravagant," her voice concerned.

"Yes, I know, but the chef is amazing. He grew up in Italy so the food is very authentic, and he's rumored to be one of the best chefs in the world. Believe me, it's worth it." His voice nonchalant as he looked over the menu.

Hermione looked at her menu, it was one of those restaurants with multiple courses, and she wasn't entirely sure what some of it said. While it was all in English there seemed to be a lot of words she just didn't know, she assumed they were just different types of pasta and sauces that she was unfamiliar with.

Malfoy looked up to see Hermione concentrating very hard on the menu. "Not to be pretentious, but shall I order?"

A small rage roared inside of her, how dare he imply she didn't know what she wanted. She looked up at him and shot a nasty glare, returning to her menu. The truth being she had no idea what to order because she could barely read most of it. She nibbled on her lip, she didn't want to give Draco that power, she didn't want him to choose for her, yet she had no idea what she was looking at. She sighed, and looked up at him.

Malfoy smirked and beckoned the waiter over, and started listing off courses and then stopped to look at her. "Red or white?"

Hermione gave him a small look of confusion before catching on that he was referencing wine. "Depends on the food."

Malfoy smiled again and looked at the waiter, "And your finest Cab." The waiter nodded and walked off. "Glad to see you know how to drink wine."

Hermione's eye brows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

"You actually care what your wine is paired with. I've been on dates where they refuse to drink one or the other despite the food we're eating, so I'm just glad you care." He shrugged.

Hermione looked at him cautiously. "Thank you?" The waiter returned and poured a small amount of wine in to their glasses.

Malfoy took a sip and looked at Hermione expectantly, she followed suit and nodded the waiter finished his pours and left the bottle on the table as Malfoy requested. "So, shall we begin? I'm sure there is a list of things you want to ask me."

Hermione glared at him, but pulled out a small sheet of paper regardless and looked over the questions, deciding that she should start off small. There were some very heavy questions she wanted to ask and wasn't sure how willing he'd be first thing. "Did you always have a crush? You implied that you had feelings since we first met."

Malfoy thought for a moment. "Yes, it was true that I was attracted to you when we first met, when we were sorted in to separate houses I was disappointed. I hoped you would be a Slytherin."

"Fat chance." Hermione giggled in to her wine glass, sipping as he glared at her.

"I wanted to get to know you but Slytherin's are very exclusive," he continued, trying to ignore her jab. "And when you were sorted in to Gryffindor, I knew there was very little chance we could be friends, house rivalry and all. So I watched you from afar. It was a few weeks before a I found out that you were muggleborn and by then it had grown into a full blown crush." He looked at her carefully. "I was upset to find out that I would never be able to date you, because my parents would never allow it, but, of course, we always want what we can't have, so I spent pretty much our entire first year secretly pining after you. Probably one of the reasons I sought out Potter so much, so I could see you."

He smirked and took a sip of his wine. "When I went home for summer holiday, let's just say that my father was far from thrilled when he found out about my crush. So I went back second year and was horrible, in hopes that I would be able to antagonize you enough that I would stop liking you. And I guess it worked, I stopped pining after you and it wasn't until fourth year that you were even on my radar again. You were stunning in that dress at the Yule ball. I was not the only head you turned that night. You should have heard the boy's dormitory that night, it didn't matter that you were a muggleborn." Malfoy gave her a smirk, she turned red assuming these were not things to be said in polite company.

"I started harboring feelings again after that. It's actually why Pansy and I broke up that year, she knew something was amiss, but I refused to tell her." He shrugged again. "At that point, though, there were rumors about Voldemort's return and I couldn't risk myself for a stupid crush. So I blocked it out as much as I could, and when he did come back, well, I forced myself to hate you."

Hermione thought for a moment. "And you just hated me from then on?"

Malfoy sighed. "I wish it had been that easy. Our fifth year it was easy enough to keep it going, but when my father failed and I was _punished,_ I was miserable and isolated. Then there was that one night sixth year, when you were on patrol, do you remember?"

Hermione's heart sank. She knew what he was talking about, she had been on prefect's rounds one night in their sixth year, and she had found him crying in the moaning Myrtel's bathroom after hours.

"That night when you were so kind to me after everything that I had done and said to you, it ignited something in me again." His voice was low. "But I was still so terrified of Voldemort that I couldn't see passed him. I thought there was no way he would lose that battle, Potter was just a kid and he was the Dark Lord. By then I had become very good at Occlumency, so I could protect thoughts from him but it was still terrifying to want someone like you." He took another sip. "So, once again, I repressed. Then you just didn't show up for seventh year so I moved on. Or at least I thought I did until you and the two twits were caught." Malfoy's look was hard as he slowly swirled the wine in his glass.

"Is that why you didn't tell them who we were?" Hermione's voice was soft and delicate, as if she was afraid she would break him with her words.

Malfoy gave a weak smile, still watching his wine move around his glass. "I was a coward that day. I could have done something, but I just stood there and watched as _she_ did that too you." The waiter arrived with their first course, waiters always had incredibly bad timing when it came to serious conversation. They nodded and thanked him.

"Malfoy, there wasn't much you could have done," Hermione told him after the waiter left them.

Malfoy looked up at her, his eyes disbelieving. "There was plenty I could have done. I could have stopped her, could have begged her not to hurt you." Malfoy looked at Hermione's arm that was holding her wine glass and, sure enough, the word 'Mudblood' was still carved into her arm, barely noticeable with the angle her arm was, but he could see the scar tissue of the top of the word. His heart clenched with guilt.

Hermione took his hand into hers. "Draco, that woman was a psychopath. There was nothing you could have done to stop her that wouldn't have gotten yourself killed."

Malfoy's heart clenched again, that was the first time she had ever used his first name and the way it rolled off her lips made his heart want to stop. "How can you be so okay with it?" He wondered.

Hermione smiled and picked up her glass, letting go of Malfoy's hand, and took a sip. "We'll just say lots of therapy."

Draco's heart sank a little when she let go of his hand. "Well, I don't know if there are enough therapists in the world to deal with the issues I have."

They continued with lighter chat as they ate their first course, which had been amazing. When they finished, Malfoy pressed on with his story.

"After the three of you escaped, Voldemort only just spared our lives, he was livid. And I was allowed to return to Hogwarts with the explicit instructions to murder you two on sight and to capture Harry if the three of you showed up. Which eventually you did, but the guilt was overwhelming so when we found you in the room of requirement I was sure I was going to have to kill you. But I couldn't, so I mostly threw off Crabbe and Goyle." Malfoy scoffed. "And then I thought I was going to die when you guys took off on the brooms. But once again you shocked me and saved us. Well, two of us. After that, I was trying to remain low key, I didn't want to fight against your side because I knew it was wrong, but if Voldemort won and it turned out that I was fighting with the other side I would have been murdered. But Potter did it."

Their second course arrived and it was just as delectable as the first. Hermione was amazed that food could be this good, and the fact that Malfoy had ordered food she was truly enjoying was surprising, though there were still three courses to go. "So why not say something eighth year?" She asked, putting her silverware down to be cleared before the next dish.

"Well I'm pretty sure you were with Weaselbee at that time, and I was working through my own things at that point," he said simply. "Believe me, it did cross my mind, you were trying so hard to be civil that year that I thought I maybe had a chance, but I was still struggling with my condition and my entire family was being put on trial so I had other things to think about."

Hermione nodded, that all made sense. "So why now then?"

Malfoy thought for a long moment. "Well, the first night I let my instincts get away from me, that paired with alcohol, my self control around you was the lowest it's ever been. I spent the next few days trying to decide how to handle it. Now correct me if I'm wrong but when I kissed you that night you didn't fight it, which led me to believe that there may have been a chance."

Hermione contemplated that on their third dish, and while it was exceptional, she was too consumed in Malfoy's point to really appreciate it. "Honestly, I don't know, Malfoy." She finished the last few bites, they had spent this course in silence as Hermione thought of what to say. "You haven't said anything wrong yet, and I'm just apprehensive about all of this."

Malfoy chuckled. "I'm unsure too. I mean, I have been attracted to you in the past and I am once again, but we have so much history and most of it is bad."

Hermione nodded. She looked down at her paper. He had covered a lot of the questions that she wanted answered with the first question. She looked at him apprehensively. "Why didn't you go full Death Eater?"

Malfoy nodded, he was not surprised by this question. "Honestly, Voldemort never wanted me, even though I was pureblood. After Greyback contaminated me, I was unworthy to bear his mark. He still wanted me to do his bidding and obey, but I was not good enough. That's when it clicked in my head that all of it was wrong, the murder, torture for supremacy. I was unworthy of Voldemort because of something that was _forced_ on me, much like muggleborns and muggles." He took a long drink. " I also realized that blood is blood, no mater who it came out of it was still red. That no matter blood purity, everyone reacts the same when crucio-ed, they still contort and scream in pain. When faced with an Avada, everyone begs for mercy."

* * *

Draco stretched out on his bed, replaying the nights progress in his head. Hermione had seemed a lot less adverse to him after dinner, which gave him small hope. She even used his first name, he had never heard his name roll off of someone lips with such a softness. _Draco._ He smiled. Merlin, he hoped she would say it more, but the words that had followed his name, those were the important ones. For whatever reason, Hermione did not hold it against him. She didn't blame him for standing like a coward and watch her be tortured. Draco mulled over this. _But why?_ Now he desperately wished he had asked her. He breathed deeply. Hermione was an enigma to him. Maybe that's what the good side just did: they forgave, unlike his side who held grudges and hurt people for mistakes.

There was something that bothered Draco about their date, however. After dinner Draco suggested that they walk around a park nearby and, much to his surprise, Hermione had agreed. As they strolled on the moon light path, the nagging feeling came back. The same one he had felt why he had been playing Qudditch, like someone was watching them, more specifically him. Draco kept looking over his shoulder, which of course Hermione noticed. He waved her off, not wanting to ruin how well the night was going.

When they ran out of park to stroll they found a secluded area and apparated back to her house. Once again, Hermione surprised him when she tentatively leaned forward and softly kissed him on the cheek. Draco swore his heart was about to fly out of his chest as her lips caressed his skin. This witch enchanted and bewildered him at every turn. She thanked him for a lovely evening and left him standing on her stoop. Draco smiled deeper and shook his head. Maybe, for the first time in his life, something was going his way and, dare he think it, maybe he'd be truly happy.

 _Monsters don't deserve to be happy._ He growled and punched the empty bed beside him. _Fuck._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Hermione was slowly sipping her coffee outside of a small cafè that she and Ginny liked to meet up for coffee every so often. Hearing of Hermione's date the previous night, Ginny insisted they get coffee the next morning, hoping to hear the fresh details. It was a wonderfully warm morning again as the breeze swept through the trees, making the sunlight glitter off their leaves. Hermione loved this time of year.

"Mione!" Ginny called, walking with her was the silver blonde Luna dreamily looking at the trees as she greeted Hermione.

"Gin!" Hermione stood up and hugged Ginny and then in turn hugged Luna. "Luna, how wonderful to see you. It's been so long!"

Luna smiled wistfully. "Well yes, I was in South Africa looking for the snub nosed knockeral with my father since May. There was a reported sighting, but we didn't find any. They only appear once every 10 years."

Hermione giggled, when she wasn't writing for the Quibbler Luna took off to foreign lands to search for strange creature that probably didn't exist. So it wasn't uncommon for her to just leave without letting any of her friends know. "I'm sorry, Luna. Maybe in another decade." Luna smiled softly and nodded.

"Well, let's go get something to drink, Luna." Ginny prodded Luna in to the cafè. "Then I want to hear about the date!" She called back over her shoulder as jostled away.

Hermione smiled and sat down again, taking a long sip of her macchiato. Luna and Ginny returned several minutes later and joined her. Ginny started regaling the story of the guy that stood in front of them, who had one of those impossibly long complicated drinks that just frustrated the baristas. "I'd bet anything he was an American," she said in a huff. "They always complicate and bastardize such simple things."

"Really, Gin? And how would you know this?" Hermione chuckled.

"I've been to America several times with the team, for you're information. And we always do bit of touring around whenever we go. Believe me, it's not the first time I've waited on a picky American."

She sighed. "All that aside, how did the date go last night?"

Luna's eyes drifted to Hermione's. "Ginny did say you had a date last night," she hummed sweetly.

Hermione chuckled, she never got over Luna's wistfulness. "I did, and I'd say it went surprisingly well. I got a lot of answers and the food was amazing as he promised it would be."

"Oh come on!" Ginny threw a paper napkin at Hermione. " You went on a fancy date with our Hogwart's rival, and the best you can come up with was _it went well_. No. More. _NOW_."

Hermione laughed, she loved that Ginny was fiery. "Okay, okay. It went really well. He was a gentleman, truly. I was not sure he could ever be that.." She paused waiting for a good word to come to her. "Kind, I guess. I don't know. He was very open about everything, answered all of my questions without getting upset or irritated. He's really grown up." She paused to play with her drink, thinking hard about what to say next. "I went in to this expecting him to fly off the handle and be rude, and he just wasn't. It was a side I've never seen before." She slowly stirred her almost finished macchiato. "I really wanted to hate him, I really wanted him to be the Malfoy we knew at Hogwarts, but the more he explained the more sympathetic I was for him." She sighed. "He never stood a chance living in that house with Lucius."'

"He was always civil with to me." Luna said airily. "I never really understood why you guys hated him so much," her voice dreamy.

Ginny looked at Luna as if she had sprouted a second head. "Luna, he was atrocious at Hogwart's. He said horrible things all the time to us, Hermione in particular." Hermione nodded, agreeing with Ginny.

"He was not always so kind, but Ron was not always so kind either." Her breath still moony. "We all knew the home Draco came from. All the pureblood families are hard on their children, well, at least the sacred twenty-eight families at least. The Malfoy's were always rumored to be the worst."

"How do you know all this?!" Ginny demanded a little roughly.

Luna was unaffected by her tone. "I'm friends with a quite a few Hufflepuffs, and their common room was in the dungeons too, so they saw the most of the Slytherins. Hufflepuffs are kind to everyone so it wasn't uncommon for the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs to befriend each other. Seeing as the rest of the houses hated the Slytherins and called the Hufflepuffs duffers."

"I'm pretty sure the Slytherin's called them duffers and much worse." Hermione chuckled.

"They did, but the two houses had an understanding. During the battle the Slytherins kept Hufflepuffs who were trapped safe until after the battle." Luna took sip of her tea.

"You know about that?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yes, Eleanor Branstone, was one of the underage Hufflepuffs, and her group got stuck. She said a bunch of the older Slytherins pulled them into the dorm and waited out the battle with them, fighting off a few Death Eaters even." Luna softly smiled.

"How did I not hear of this?" Ginny asked reproachfully.

"Like I said, the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs have an understanding. If the Hufflepuffs keep up the Slytherin reputation, the Slytherins are willing to befriend them," Luna said simply.

"I had no idea," Ginny said, dumbfounded.

"Malfoy told me about the battle but I didn't know of this house truce." Hermione shrugged. Luna simply smiled and drank her tea.

"Well, that's still not an excuse for being a twat all those years," Ginny said gruffly.

"No." Hermione sighed, "but it certainly explains a lot of things. Gin, we were all very lucky to have parents who loved us and let us be who we were. Imagine your parents telling you what to do, who to be, how to think and being disciplined for not following that exactly."

Ginny now looked at Hermione horrified. "Did someone Imperio you two?"

"I'm sorry, weren't you the one who said that I needed to give him a chance?" Hermione chuckled.

"Yes, give him a chance, but excuse his awful behavior does not encompass that." Ginny gave Hermione a stern look. "Look I'm thrilled that he's matured and changed, that's great, but you two justifying him bullying us, letting the Death Eaters in Hogwarts _and_ fighting against us during the final battle. That's what I'm saying is crazy." She shrugged.

"I'm not justifying anything he did. I'm just saying it's not as black and white as we'd like to think."

"I love shades of gray," Luna hummed, seemingly off in her own world again.

"Yea, charcoal gray." Ginny scoffed in to her coffee.

Hermione laughed and told them about the rest of the date, strolling through the park and then kissing him on her doorstep.

"Wait, you kissed him this time?" Ginny questioned

"Yes, on the cheek." Hermione answered simply.

"Why?" Ginny's brows knitted together.

Hermione thought for a moment. "I truly did have a nice time. After we got over the initial part of explanations, I found it easy to talk to him. He's actually very smart." Hermione smiled. "He was second behind me in all of our years, and he was a close second. So we talked a lot about potions, magical theories, and we even talked about some muggle science things. I actually really enjoyed myself, and I guess I kissed him because I wanted to," she ended, her smile softening.

"Oh no," Ginny whispered.

Hermione's eyes shot up and panic started to settle in. "What?"

"Ron is going to flip when he hears you're dating Malfoy."

* * *

It struck Hermione then just how badly Ron would react to the news. While Ron had grown up quite a bit, he still resented Malfoy. It irritated Ron to no end whenever they went to the Malfoy Manor for events, he complained and complained. Though that never enough to stop him from engulfing the buffets. He had come to terms with Narcissa, but whenever the topic of Malfoy came up Ron glared and spat venom. "Well, lets not put the carriage before the horse. It was one date."

A whoosh of green flame erupted from the only open floo in the Malfoy manor, and as smooth as a panther, Blaise stepped out of the fireplace. "Draco." He nodded. "Theo shou..." Another green swirl engulfed the fire place and Theo stepped out with only slightly less grace the Blaise. Being raised within the pureblood families meant the men spent a lot of time when they were boys learning demeanor, poise and an unwavering facadè.

"Draco." Theo nodded, mimicking Blaise

"Gentlemen." Draco nodded. "Come on." He shrugged, leading them to what use to be his father's study but, since his arrest, Draco had inherited it. He threw open the large oak doors to reveal what may have looked more library than office. Blaise and Theo took seats in the black leather arms chairs while Draco poured them fire whiskey. He handed them their drinks and sat across from them.

"Are we done with pleasantries?" Theo stretched out. "I know we're the "Next generation of highborn purebloods" but this B.S. is exactly that."

Blaise chuckled into his drink. "Careful, Theo, you just barely got to keep everything after your fathers imprisonment, we may still kick you out."

Draco leaned back in to his chair, his free hand cradling his chin as he watched at his two classmates. He enjoyed watching their verbal sparring. If there was one thing you could say about Slytherins, their ability to verbally battle was always entertaining. Everyone's skills were carefully honed during their Hogwarts years. Often, tallies would be kept by the Prefects, and then the winner would gain a title, Draco had won his fifth year and earned himself the _Dragon's Bite_ title, one that he was fiercely proud of in the years to come. Blaise had won their sixth year and earned his title as the _Steel Shark._ Theo had come close to Blaise that year, but since Slytherins have a strict sense of winning and losing he never gained a title, which to this day they he was still a little sore over.

"Why are you so stoic today?" Theo shot at Draco, breaking Draco from his side thoughts.

Draco chuckled. "Just enjoying your battle of wits."

"Yea, uh-huh. Hey, didn't you mention something about a date?" Theo asked cocking and eyebrow.

"Yes, I recall this as well. It's why we didn't come for drinks last night, if I remember correctly," Blasie drawled out.

"I did." Draco gave a nonchalant shrug.

Now Blaise peaked an eyebrow. "With whom? Anyone we should know?"

Draco shrugged again. "Perhaps."

Blaise's smile turned devilish. "Heard that it was with a one Miss Granger."

Theo choked on his whiskey. "Gryffindor's Princess, Granger? Golden Trio Granger?"

Draco's eyes were unwavering as he stared at Blaise, wondering if he should confirm his suspicions. "Where would you hear such a thing?"

"Well, after the way she stormed out of the battle ball, I knew you two weren't through." Blaise sipped his drink. "And I have connections."

Theo looked simply floored. "Wait, what happened with the pretty little princess at the ball?"

Draco opened his mouth to disregard the question but Blaise beat him to it. "You see, Draco and Granger were dancing and then for some reason Draco stormed off and so naturally she went to chase him. Several minutes later she stormed out of the ball without farewells and Draco came skulking back a few minutes after she left with a bruised ego from rejection." Blaise grinned evilly. "Or am I mistaken?"

Draco scoffed. "Number one, there was no skulking, I merely returned to the party. And two, you are over analyzing." Draco took a long sip.

A cocky smile crept at over Theo's face. "Merlin's beard. You tried to hook up with Granger and she turned you down."

Draco glared at Theo. "Just because you have a rejected list longer than a Basilisk."

"You're defensive, so it must have been bad," Theo taunted.

Draco took a deep breath, it was probably better to nip it in the bud than let these to idiots get a hold of it. "It was Granger." Draco looked at Blaise, his eye calculating Blaise's reaction. "It was just dinner, and we agreed to keep it quiet because we don't want the presses running off with it." There was an understanding between purebloods families to never release unwanted information without repercussions. Their lives were always under constant scrutiny by the public that a common respect for personal information had become a necessity to maintain friendships and partnerships. This, however, did have a caveat, you never shared information outside of your friendships because these rules did not extend to those without a shared mutual destruction. Draco knew Blaise and Theo would keep quiet, because he had enough dirt on them to ensure it, just as they had enough dirt on him, pureblood relationships were extraordinarily delicate things.

Blaise chuckled. "So it went well?"

Draco leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and swirling his drink as he stared at his feet. "Well enough, I think. Dinner, strolled around the park then I took her home. Though I wasn't as impressed by the dessert as I am accustomed to." He looked at Blaise. "At the ball you said we had a spark. What did you mean by that?"

Blaise thought for moment. "There was something fiery between you two. When you two bickered, something could have spontaneously combust it was so fierce. It always seemed like you two fought with more than just words."

Theo nodded. "There were so many rumors going around sixth year that you two were shagging."

Draco looked appalled. "Why would anyone say that?!"

Theo laughed. "Exactly what Blaise said, you two were so combustible around each other, like flint and steel."

Draco turned that thought over in his head, combustible? What did that mean, that they just set each other off all the time? Were they a hazard to all those around them? Combustible could have another meaning though, fiery, passionate. Was all that fighting and taunting just misdirected passion? It certainly was for Draco. Granger, however, maybe she just wanted to burn him alive.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

It was Tuesday and Hermione felt like this week had been dragging on already. With the full moon on Saturday, she had been rushing around to meet her clients and working closely with Harry to set up duty rotations, working with the Aurors familiarizing them with the coins and various weak points of each of the clients. _All of this and it was only Tuesday._

There was another something that had been nagging at the back of her brain, but she tried to give it little thought as possible. She hadn't heard form Malfoy, though she still wasn't entirely sure she wanted to hear from him again, there was no doubt in her mind the next time he contacted her it would be for a second date. She had still not decided if she wanted another date but Malfoy was challenging, he was very smart, and something about his refined taste and composure intrigued Hermione. She sighed defeatedly, she _did_ want another date. The problem really was that she was still not sure if she _should_ want to see him again. While he was truly not the person she had known before, that did not make up for the horrible things he had said and done. She chewed on the end of her pen. She had stopped reading the file in front of her again when a sharp knock came at her door.

Hermione's head whipped up so fast that one of the muscles in he neck burned. "Come in," she called through gritted teeth, slowly standing.

"Hey, 'Mione." A jovial Ron entered the room. "Just headed to lunch, care to join?"

"Oh, Ron." Hermione looked at the stacks of papers on her desk. "I really shouldn't, Ron. I have loads to get done before Saturday."

Ron smiled. "Well, I figured you'd say that, so I brought a sandwich from the trolley down in the atrium for you and I figured we could eat in here or I'd just have two sandwiches for lunch."

Hermione laughed. "Ron, thank you." She smiled as she sat in her chair.

Ron took the seat across from her. "Well, I have known you for over a decade now so there's that." He chuckled and handed her a sandwich.

Hermione opened her sandwich, it was the sandwich she got every time from the trolley, and Ron knew exactly what it was, he had yet to get the wrong sandwich, in fact. Hermione chewed slowly, her eyes drifting over Ron and his still terrible, table manners. Ron was dependable and loyal, he always cared for her and wanted what was best for her. He had been there through thick and thin and was as devoted as any friend or boyfriend should be. To top it off he knew her, to a deep personal level that only Harry had surpassed, and the crazy thing was it he loved her regardless of her many flaws. She had truly loved Ron, so what was wrong with her? Why, when she had this incredible devoted man, could she not settle down and be happy with him? Was she just not meant for marriage?

"Mione?" Ron asked his mouth half full of food.

Hermione snapped out of it. "Ron, can I ask you something and will you be brutally honest with me?"

Ron chewed some more and nodded vigorously.

"Am I just not made for love or marriage?" She paused. "I know there are some people out there who spend their entire lives working on their careers and they are completely content with only that."

Whatever Ron had been thinking she was going to ask, that was not it by the look on his face. Thankfully he swallowed and thought for a moment. "I don't know, Mione, I think you're career was definitely a factor in our relationship, but I wouldn't say you aren't meant for love. I don't think anyone isn't meant for love. I mean that's kind of the point of life, innit?"

"You think that life is the for the sole purpose of finding love?" Her eyebrows knitting together.

"Yea, I mean love as a whole, friend love, family love. I mean, it's all love and I think we're all meant for that. While romantic love is great and all it's not the sole purpose, not by a long shot, but it's great when you have it." Ron voice careful and thoughtful.

"Am I just not meant for romantic love, then?" Hermione was becoming increasingly worried.

"I don't know..." Ron sputterd when Hermione's face turned depressive looking. "N-n-no, I mean I think you are meant for romance. I just don't know when you'll be ready for it.

"What do you mean?" Hermione sincerely wanted to know.

"I mean, when it was you and me, you wanted this." He gestured around her office. "You wanted to do and make something of yourself, and I'm not saying it was a bad thing at all, I definitely think you can have both, but at that point, you wanted this more than you wanted me." He thought for a moment. "I'm not saying that you have to give up you job for love, but you have to be willing to give a little more to love than your job." Ron took another bite.

Hermione looked down at her sandwich. She wasn't sure what answer she was looking for or even if he had given her the right answer. "I don't know how I can devote anymore of my time to something else, though."

Ron sighed. "Look, Mione, it's not about devoting time, it's about putting in effort to be present and to care when you are there. And not that you didn't care when we were together, but you just kinda let work dictate your life, everything you did was for work and it made it really hard to be in a relationship with you. If the war taught me anything, it's that life is precious, and the people around you, the people who love you, they're sacred. You never know when one of them will be ripped away from you. I mean, look how many people we lost." Ron paused, Fred's memory hung heavily between them. "I don't think you can't have love, Mione, I think you just don't allow yourself _to_ have it."

Hermione let the words sink in, she wanted honest and she got it. "Thanks, Ron." Her tone somber now, she smiled. She loved him, she truly did.

After another long day at the ministry, Hermione stepped in to her living room and took a deep breath. Ron's words had been lingering in her head the rest of the day. He was right, she knew it, she spent very little time when they were together actually with him. Sure, they lived in the same house and slept in the same bed but she was constantly working, she wasn't present for him she didn't invest time in to him. She was going to be alone forever, her and the thirty-seven cats. Hermione sighed again and plopped her files on the dinner table, dinner time would be soon and she needed to figure out what she wanted to make. Though when she stepped in to the kitchen a very handsome eagle owl waited patiently on her windowsill outside with an emerald envelope in its beak. Hermione opened the window and the owl gracefully swooped in on the back of one of her dinette chairs and turned its lovely eye on her, the envelope still grasped in its beak. She walked over and took the envelope out of its beak and turned it over, there was no writing on the front but the seal had the Malfoy emblem pressed in black ink. Of course Malfoy would have sent an over-the-top letter to her. There was absolutely no reason to send a letter in an envelope with a wax seal, a note would have sufficed, she laughed to herself. _Prat_. She opened the letter, and on crisp paper with long, graceful letters, Malfoy had written:

 _Granger,_

 _Dinner went well. I would like to take you out again. I have arrangements this weekend, but next?_

 _Draco Malfoy._

Hermione smiled. _Dinner went well._ It amazed her how one moment he was willing to tell her his entire life story and the next he was calm and stoic, barely writing anything on a letter so meticulously sealed and sent. Ron's words surfaced to her mind again. She highly doubted when he told her to want love that he meant Malfoy, but that was a detail she would sort out later.

 _Malfoy,_

 _Dinner did go well. Next Saturday will be fine._

 _Hermione Granger._

She scrawled on a piece of parchment. She did have envelopes, and she could make candle wax work, she transformed a spoon in to a fancy looking stamper with her initials _HG_ inscribed on it and sent the owl off once again.

* * *

Draco could feel the aching in his bones, the last few days before the full moon were always hard, his body ached, his mind felt clouded and his temper was abnormally short. So normally he chose to stay out of the public eye and stay home and very, very much alone. Today, he need to get some ingredients for his next wolfsbane potion. The potion itself was time consuming and immensely difficult and required very specific and expensive ingredients, while he was preparing to start his next batch for the full moon next month he realized he was out of valerian roots. Normally he would just send house elves to shop for him but the roots need to be precise in size, texture and age, not that he didn't trust the elves to be meticulous for him, he just felt better if he were the one purchasing the roots. Draco strode into the Apothecary. The shop was small and lined with shelves all of which various jars on them, from the ceiling hung an assortment of dried herbs and feathers, while pushed up against the wall were large barrels of slime, and up against the the back walls tanks full of live insects, amphibians, and other small creatures used for potions making. Draco strode to the the counter at the back of the shop and rung a small bell.

"Alright, alright!" A voice called from a doorway behind the counter covered in a old worn tapestry with dragons on it, an elderly man stepped out from behind the tapestry. His hair was completely gray and unkempt, and wrinkles marred his face along with a few old faded scars. "What d' you want?"

Draco smiled. "I am in need of some Valerian Roots, and powdered silver." He was running low in the silver and figured it would be best to get some extra while he was here anyways.

The old man gave Draco a skeptical look, chewing on something in his mouth. "Silver's over there." He pointed to one of the shelves, "and I keep the root in the back." He disappeared again behind the tapestry, muttering under his breath.

Draco took out a vial and filled it, he didn't need much silver. He walked back to the counter and waited for the old man to come out. As he stood patiently, the feeling that he was being watched washed over him again. Draco nonchalantly threw his head over his shoulder to make sure he was the only person in the shop, which he was. A flicker of irritation flashed in his eyes, he then acted as if nothing was amiss and looked at his cuticles, closely watching the shop windows from the corner of his eye. A hooded figure seemed to peak around the corner of the window when Draco was seemingly distracted.

Just then the man came back, plopping a box of roots on the counter, "I suppose you want to pick 'em."

He looked over Draco again with a now knowing look.

Draco turned his back on the window, listening carefully for the door to open, his hand gripping his wand on the inside of his cloak. He quickly picked out four roots of the correct size, texture, and age, and handed them to the man, who then weighed them and the powdered silver. "That'll be ten Galleons." He paid the man and stowed his ingredients in his cloak, turning quickly on his heel, just barely catching his follower by surprise who once again ducked out of the way.

If it was press, they were going to an extreme length to not be seen, which was not typically the way they operated. If it were someone dangerous, they would have had the opportunity to attack several times but never took it. He walked down the alley at a leisurely pace as to not alert them, he the randomly detoured in to Flourish and Blotts. He walked down one of the many shelves and picked up one of the many books in the store and pretended to look over it once again watching from the corner of his eye, and, again, a hooded figure was waiting across the street, pretending to look at robes that were being sold on the street. Draco was now sure he had a tail. He picked out a few other random books that looked like he might enjoy, paid and once again left the shop, his tail continuing to follow him. _Fuck,_ he thought.

"Draco!" called a familiar voice.

Draco turned to see Theo striding towards him. "Theo." Draco nodded once Theo was in appropriate conversation distance. "What brings you to the Alley?"

"I just had somethings to take care of at Gingotts. You?" Theo chinned at Draco.

"Just needed some ingredients, and some new books." Draco was watching again, this time the tail had ducked in to a side alley when he saw Theo approach.

"Well, how about we grab lunch?"

Draco thought for a moment. "How about we head back to my place for lunch? These ingredients are time sensitive."

"Sure." Theo nodded.

The tail followed them to the apparition point, but not to the Manor, much to Draco's relief. Once they were inside the Manor, Draco started to check all the warding.

"Everything okay?" Theo questioned as he watched Draco curiously.

"No, someone's following me," Draco mumbled, concentrating on the warding still.

"What? When?" Theo's voice became alarmed.

"Just now, and I think it's been going on for a few weeks now." The warding looked to be fine so Draco turned to look at Theo.

"Mate, that's not good. Did you hear about the Azkaban break outs? You think it's one of them?"

"No, because that only just happened last week, I've had this feeling since the Quidditch game." Draco sighed, running his hand threw his hair.

"Mate, you gotta tell someone," Theo implored. "Especially with those Death Eaters out, you've been marked as a blood traitor."

Hot fury erupted in Draco's chest. "You don't think I fucking know that?!"

Theo stepped back, his hands up, surrendering to Draco anger. "Look, mate..."

Draco cut him off sighing. "No, sorry Theo, it's just..." Draco trialed off. He hadn't actually told Theo yet. He hadn't actually wanted to tell Blaise either, but with his accident he need Blaise's help desperately. Draco did trust Theo. While Slytherin's not noted for being the most trustworthy of people, they were fiercely loyal to their families and close friends. And Theo was one of the closest people Draco had ever had to a brother, Theo and Blaise to be exact. Theo would come over with his father often when they were boys, and they would play all day long and late into the night, it wasn't until the boys were older that they realized that their fathers were meeting for Voldemort. And, most importantly, Theo was there during the horrible shit show that went down at the Manor when Voldemort did come back to power. "Theo," Draco sighed, "I never took the Mark. I was bitten instead."

Theo seemingly didn't seem need more elaboration. "I kinda figured."

Draco looked at Theo, a look of shock on his face. "What?"

"Well, I never actually saw your mark, and I noticed that you took off once a month during our eighth year. It took me a bit to realize that it corresponded with the full moons but I got there eventually. I just figured you were too ashamed to say anything so I didn't ask."

Draco's thoughts were running a million miles an hour, Blaise had not seemed entirely surprised either when Draco had told him. Did everyone know about his condition? "Wait, and you still wanted to be around me?"

Theo laughed causing Draco to glare at him. "Look, I know back in the day Werewolves were like scum and all the b.s. Honestly, you're my mate, we've been friends forever, that wouldn't change because you were forced into being a werewolf."

"But I'm dangerous." Draco looked down at his hands, fidgeting with them.

"Nah, man, you're not. I assume you take the potions and lock yourself up. So, you're about as dangerous as a rabid bunny." Theo grinned cheekily.

Draco glared at him, but was immensely relieved at the same time. "I'll let mother know you'll be here for lunch." Draco stood up, he tried to not stay in mushy moments like this very often, and he had already tapped himself out at the dinner date with Granger.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Draco swallowed the potion; it was not the most pleasurable of tastes, but over the last four years of taking it for a full week every month he had grown used to the taste and the unpleasant texture. Though, honestly, he was grateful to just even have it, the ingredients were very expensive and the potion itself was incredibly complicated to brew. The only reason Draco was able to brew it was because Snape had insisted that he memorize the exact recipe for it, and while he thought that it was a waste of his time his sixth year, he was immensely thankful to his former Professor; and not just for the potions. Snape had done a lot for Draco, and one of his biggest regrets was being too pompous to properly thank him.

Draco rolled his head around, all the muscles in his body were hurting and his joints cracked with every movement he made. It was like his entire body was clenching in anticipated agony for the night just to be over. "Draco?" His mother's voice approached him.

"I'm here, mother." Draco stood in the last cell at the end of the long dungeon that rested under the Malfoy Manor. The dungeon used to be the normal cellar but after the escape of Potter and the the other captives, Voldemort insisted that the cellar was converted in to proper dungeon with separate cells and every ward that they could think of to prevent such things from happening again. After Draco was bitten, this was where he spent his full moons, even when he was traveling abroad. Once a month he would apparate to Manor spend his nights there. He never stayed long enough to see his Mother or associate with anyone and ensured that he would not be bothered. He wasn't even sure his mother knew that he had stayed in this very cell while he was away. Before he left, Draco had altered the ward in this particular cell to allow him to apparate in and out of it unbeknownst to anyone else. It worked out well enough.

Narcissa looked through the bars at her son. "Darling, it's barely dusk, you don't need to be down here yet."

Draco chuckled. "I'm just preparing myself mother, don't fret."

Narcissa pushed open the cell door and approached her son. "My love, I will always fret when it comes to you." She cupped Draco's cheek softly. "You are my everything."

Draco smiled, his mother always wanted to be affectionate with him, but Lucius was a firm believer that to much love would make Draco weak, and yelled at his wife when he thought she was being to soft with Draco. Draco hated watching Lucius berate his mother, so eventually Draco just avoided his mothers affections, breaking his mother's heart, but it had to be done. Since Voldemort's downfall and his father's arrest, Draco slowly allowed his mothers affections again, it was a weird process at first but now it was natural to them. "I know, mother, I just feel more comfortable down here, where I can't hurt you."

Narcissa sighed. "You're not going to hurt anyone, you haven't yet."

Draco tried to not let guilt flash in his eyes, looking down at his watch to avoid looking at his mother. "It's approaching nine, mother. You should go."

Narcissa gave a weak smile, and stood on her toes to give him a kiss on the forehead. "You'll be fine, Draco, you've taken your potions and this cell can hold you."

Draco nodded. "Just remember if anything goes wrong use that coin I gave you."

Narcissa rolled her eyes at her son. "Draco, everything will be fine, you're so tightly wound this month. You were not this anxious last time." She paused for moment eyeing him. "Is there something going on my love?"

Draco had decided that it was best to wait before telling anyone of the Diagon Alley tail, this was only the first time he had seen them and it was possible that he just being paranoid. He didn't want to alert Hermione or anyone at the ministy over nothing. Theo urged Draco to tell someone. However, Draco didn't want to call more attention to himself than necessary. "No, mother, everything's fine. Now, please, go," Draco implored, the clock ticked closer and closer nightfall. His mother kissed his forehead again and walked out of the cell, closing the door and magically locking it.

"Goodnight," she whispered solemnly and left him alone.

He heard the dungeon door close and lock. He then stripped out of his clothes, placing them on the other side of the bars. Draco laid out the old blanket he brought for a little comfort, he sat down and started taking long meditative breaths, focusing on the rhythm of his heartbeat, losing track of the world around him.

Draco felt his bones scream as they lengthened and and contorted; he felt his skin searing with a rippling pain as it stretched to accommodate the new form. Sharp teeth ripped through his gums while his jaw and cheekbones jutted forward to create a snout. He let out a series of yells and screams that slowly, agonizingly, became growls and howls. The transformation itself only took a few minutes, going through it was excruciating, however, and that was with the potion to ease the some of the pain; without the potion, it was torturous.

He could smell everything, he could hear a rat scuttling around the floor on the far end of the dungeon, and he could almost taste the meat of the rat in his jowls, the scent was so overwhelming. All he could feel was the wolf. The wolf wanted food; the wolf wanted blood. The wolf began to pace frantically around the cell, it needed to eat. The smell of the rat was driving the beast insane. The wolf lunged at the bars, growling and howling to get out, but with no success. It went back to pacing, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

With the wolf in control, he lost all sense of time, there was only pacing, pacing, pacing. Then there was a pop. The wolf stopped, perking its ears, there was a new smell. A human, not one that the wolf recognized, then he heard foot steps, and fear, oh the human reeked of fear. The wolf paced faster, he could hear the human's heart pounding, hot, delicious blood pulsing. Then the human stopped, but the wolf could not see them, he could smell them, hear them, almost taste them, but the wolf eyes failed him. The wolf let out a rumble of frustration, it wanted the blood so bad. Then the human said something, Draco heard it too, and it sounded like a spell, and suddenly there was a clicking noise in front of them, and then the human began to run. Oh, how the wolf loved to play chase. Eagerly, it lunged at the door again, this time the door gave way. Horror flooded Draco's conscious, but the wolf had no time for that and was loping after the human. The human had made it up to the steps and out another door. The wolf ran harder, it wanted the blood, then another snap, and the wolf couldn't hear the human anymore, but the scent hung heavily in the air. New smells flooded his senses now, he could smell meat, other foods and other heavy scents. Wait, there was something else moving too. The wolf could hear it, the wolf stalked towards the other sounds. There, behind the door, there were several living things clamoring about, the wolf leaped through the door. Draco's consciousness reeled back trying desperately to gain control of the wolf, trying to prevent to wolf from attacking the house elves. The struggling between consciousnesses gave the elves just enough time to apparate out of the kitchen and, much to the wolves frustration, they were once again alone.

* * *

Hermione heard a distant ringing, she was at the ministry talking to Harry. He was perched on her desk again and they were working on something together but the ringing kept getting louder. Hermione looked around for the source of the noise. _Harry, what is that?_ She asked. Harry said something but it was muffled, as if she were hearing him under water. Hermione stood up looking for the noise. _Harry?_ The ringing became deafening she whipped around the office searching for the source, but the room around her grew foggy and Harry evaporated like steam in front of her.

Then Hermione's consciousness caught on and she ripped herself out of bed, the coin one her bed side table was glowing bright red and screeching loudly. Hermione's heart stopped, that meant nothing good. She shot out of bed and dressed as fast as she could, dreading where the coin would take her. She threw on her shoes and grabbed her wand, her hair thrown up in to a ponytail, she touched the coin. As if someone grabbed her with a hook by her abdomen, she was thrown backwards, spinning, she worked herself out just in time before the portkey dropped her. Her heart sank, she was standing outside of the grounds of the Malfoy manor, the one place she prayed it wouldn't take her.

"Hermione!" Harry called, he was talking to a woman with long blonde hair.

Hermione was only slightly relieved to see Narcissa standing there. Narcissa turned to see her. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so glad to see you."

Hermione joined them. "What's going on?" Trepidation saturating her words.

"Well, apparently, Malfoy's loose," Harry said simply.

"I was asleep when the house elves apparated into my room, and the told me that we had to get out of the house. They didn't give me time to grab anything, and brought me out here immediately. When they told me that Draco was loose in the house, I told them that I needed to back for the coin to alert you. They wouldn't let me go so Tobby went back in a grabbed it, thankfully Draco was nowhere near that wing."

Hermione heart started to beat again, a loose werewolf they could deal with, an attack on Malfoy that was different. "Do we know where he is?"

"Well, the elves saw him in the kitchen last, but we have done flyovers and we think he may have traveled to the forest behind the manor," Harry informed her.

Hermione turned to Narcissa and the elves. "Okay. First things first, let's get you guys somewhere safe. I'll apparate you to my home where you can stay until we find and detain him."

"No, I wish to stay here and make sure he's safe," Narcissa insisted.

Harry grabbed Narcissa's shoulder firmly, "Narcissa, if you stay here we will have less people to search for him. I promise we won't harm him, we're only going to knock him out so we can put him back in his cell," Harry ensured her.

Narcissa's eyes were swirling with worry. "Okay. We'll wait at Hermione's"

Hermione nodded and took Narcissa's hand, apparating them to her flat. Once at the flat, Narcissa summoned all of the elves. "Now please make yourselves at home, but I need to get back to help," Hermione offered, but before she got a response she apparated back to a waiting Harry.

"Excellent. I have four Aurors searching the south and southwest part of the property. You and I will search the southeast. If we don't find him there we'll move east and west moving in pairs towards each other. Werewolves are extremely territorial so he's most likely to stay close to the manor. If you see anything send up red sparks and everyone will converge to take him out," Harry's voice was now authoritative.

Hermione nodded. It sounded like a solid enough plan to her, she stepped close Harry who wrapped an arm around her and then they apparated. The darkness of the forest was oppressing, even though it was a full moon the tree tops cut out most of the light. "Lumos," Harry and Hremione said almost in unison.

"Okay, you go that way, I'll go this way, stay in sight lines, and if you lose me send a Patronus," Harry instructed her. He then started walking off to the left and Hermione took to the right, staying just within each others vision.

The forest was thick and dense, this area hadn't been bothered by humans in what Hermione assumed was hundreds of years. She walked slowly and carefully, her senses in high alert, waiting to hear or see anything that might be Malfoy. Every few minutes, she glanced to her left to see the faint glow of Harry's wand, relieved he was still there. Hermione never felt like she need protection, she was a very capable witch, she worried for Harry's safety. Harry had a tendency to launch into situations, and while his Auror training had helped with it, he was still known for his impulsiveness. Hermione was mostly concerned that Harry would hear something and run off without waiting for help, and, while Harry was an excellent wizard, taking a werewolf on by oneself was not a great idea.

Hermione checked again, Harry was still there, but then off to her right she heard a twig snap. Hermione froze and waited on baited breath, but nothing came at her. There were other creatures in this forest, surely it must have been something else; she pressed on. Then another snap, this time from behind her. Hermione whipped around, but once again saw nothing. Adrenaline was pumping through Hermione's veins now, she could feel her senses heightening with each beat of her heart. Hermione checked for Harry, her heart sank, she couldn't see the glow of his wand any more. _Damn it Harry,_ she looked forward again to cast her patronus to send for Harry, but her breath caught in her throat.

In front of her stalked the werewolf, he was a pale version of Lupin's, his skin was was the color of ash while his fur seemed to be bone white. His eyes remained steel cold gray, there was a low rumble coming from him as he carefully and slowly stepped closer to her. Hermione's heart just about stopped, she was frozen. This beast could rip her apart in a matter of seconds and for every moment her body refused to move, the wolf inched closer. "Draco," She whispered.

Darco could see a frozen Hermione in front of him. He and his mind begged and pleaded her to move and run, while battling the wolf for more control. Though this time the desire was not to feed, no. Draco could smell every inch of Hermione, he could taste her essence, and while it didn't seem like the wolf wanted to harm her, Draco didn't want to take that chance of getting to close. A growl rumbled in his chest.

Hermione raised her wand, the werewolf was so close at this point that she could smell his musk in the air. She had one shot, she would hit him with a stupefy, which in his state would buy her a couple of moments to send up a flare then put some distance between her and the werewolf. She would wait for others to arrive and then they would be able to use multiple stupefys on him to knock him out until hopefully morning. She took a deep breath and yelled "Stupefy!" except the spell rebounded off of him. _Shit._ Hermione's heart sank and then sheer instinct took over and, before she knew what she was doing, she was running as fast as she could. Ducking and weaving between branches and trees, anything she could put between her and those teeth. _Shit shit shit!_ Hermione's mind was racing. She needed help, how could she... _I'm a fucking witch! Use magic!_ Her mind screamed at her, even living in the wizdaring world for thirteen years, her instincts were still very much muggle. She quickly sent up a flare, the charm turning the forest around her a blistering red in the dead of night.

The chase intrinsic was overwhelming and Draco was easily overpowered by the need to hunt. The wolf wanted to catch her, the wolf wanted to sink its jaws into her. The wolf took off after her, but she kept ducking over and under obstacles putting trees and foliage between them, slowing the wolf down. Then more pops and more human smells, the wolf smelled three other people now joining the chase. The wolf became excited at the arrival of new prey. The wolf lunged at a Human who suddenly appeared at his side. The human barely dogded his bite before disappearing again, but the wolf caught the smell of the female, directing himself towards her, seeking her once more.

Hermione heard the pops of the other Aurors, thankful that they had seen her flares. She dove behind a tree hopeful that the werewolf didn't see her. There was another pop and Harry appeared in front of her. "On three immobulus. One, two," he said, they leapt out from behind the tree together to find the werewolf just meters from them, "Three!" Harry bellowed.

"Immobulus!" They yelled the spell together and, this time, the spells hit the werewolf square in the chest. The wolf plowed heavily in to the ground, unable to use its body. Then four more pops and the rest of the Aurors arrived, then on the next count of three, all six of them cast stupefy to the knock the beast out.

"Well, that went well," Hermione huffed, trying to catch her breath. Harry couldn't help but laugh.

They bound the werewolf and levitated him back to the manor and in to a different cell. Once they were sure he was secured, they thoroughly checked his previous cell, trying to determine how he got out. "We can't find anything wrong with the cell, he didn't break out by force," Harry mumbled to Hermione, who was still standing in front of the cell with Malfoy in it.

"Do we think someone let him out?" Hermione whispered.

"I dunno, they'd have to be mad to come that close, if you ask me." Harry shifted, looking at the now unconscious wolf.

Hermione frowned, what was the point in letting a werewolf free other than to terrorize? And if it was to terrorize, the next question was, who did they want to scare? Malfoy said not many people knew he had been bitten, unless... "It must have been one of the Death Eaters that escaped."

Harry gave he a confused look. "Why not just kill him for being a blood traitor then? Why go to all of the trouble of releasing him?"

Hermione shook her head. "I have no idea. It makes no sense whatsoever."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Firstly, thank you everyone for your comments, they have really helped keep me going. Your thoughts are all so encouraging and I can't tell you how much I truly appreciate them! As for the ending on chapter 17 I'm not totally happy with it either, so I may go in and tweak it just a bit. Nothing insane, just some wording. I'm sorry it sucked! As for this chapter it's a on the shorter side this time, so I'm going to post another chapter tomorrow night since my editor {aka, my hubs} is at work and won't be able to read it until tomorrow.**

 **Speaking of beta's I still don't have one, I hope the writing has been okay, we've been trying very hard to catch everything we can. So if you know someone, or are someone who beta's and would like to help a girl out Please message me! My efforts trying to find one have been fruitless, and I'm terribly sorry about that!**

 **Finally I'm currently working on chapter 28 so hopefully I'll be wrapping this beast up soon! Gah! I'm so excited for the upcoming chapters, I so hope you guys like them!**

 **Chapter 18**

Draco woke up the next morning feeling like a sack of bricks landed on him and, while he was normally sore from his transformations, he never quite felt like this. He slowly sat up and tried to put together any memories that he had from the previous night. A terrified Hermione flickered in his mind and Draco's eyes shot open, immediately realizing he was not in the right cell. He spun himself around. His clothes were on the opposite side of the hallway, next to the cell he was supposed to be in. Panic set in. He could only recall blips of the night and the throbbing headache that was setting in was not helping the situation. Draco slowly, painfully, stood up. "Accio wand." Wandless magic was not something everyone could do, it required a lot of focusing your magical energy. Even then one could only perform basic spells, such as summoning and unlocking charms. Draco's wand flew into his grip and, just as he was about to summon his other clothes, Hermione's gentle voice caught him off guard.

"Malfoy?" Hermione called as sh opened the cell door that she was sleeping in and rounded the wall to the cell that Malfoy had been placed in. "Oh!" she screamed. When she glimpsed Malfoy he had been stark naked. "Oh no! I'm sorry!" She spun on her heel, cleching her eyes shut. She was pretty sure she hadn't actually seen anything _important,_ but still. _Of course he wasn't wearing clothing, he was in werewolf form only hours ago and werewolves did not wear clothing._

Draco summoned his clothes then slipped on his boxer-briefs and and then his trousers. "It's okay, Granger. You can look now," he called as he pulled his trousers up over his hip and zipped them up.

Hermione turned around again, now blushing. "Sorry, I just didn't even think." Her eyes looked back to him as he buttoned up his trousers and bent down to grab his under shirt. As she looked over his pale chest she noticed faint slashing scars across his chest and dark red bite mark on his left forearm. _That must have been where Fenrir had bitten him, those bites never heal well and always leave terrible scars_ the thought meandered across her mind. She snapped back to reality as Malfoy pulled his shirt down of his torso and bent over to grab a simple white button up.

"Why are you here?" Draco asked, perhaps a little too harshly.

"Oh, well, you escaped last night and we hunted you down and brought you back, and I have some questions for you." She lifted her head, kicking in to her professional mode.

Draco grimaced. He was hoping that he had an overactive dream. "Shit," he muttered under his breath, "Did I..."

"No, you didn't hurt anyone, gave your poor house elves a heart attack, but Narcissa used the coin to alert me and the other Aurors and we were able to get everyone out safely." Hermione voice even. "And at least we know now that the coins work well."

Draco glared at her as he finished buttoning up his dress shirt. "Glad to be of service."

Hermione frowned. "It could have been much worse. You should be grateful."

"Oh yeah, so grateful for this virus." Draco rolled his eyes, unlocked the cell door and stepped out. "Any idea how I got out?" he asked as he approached her.

"I was hoping you could tell me that." She looked in to his stony eyes, they looked tired, and for a moment a flash of guilt hit her. He probably wanted to just go to sleep, his night had been less than restful and he was probably feeling very sore from the pummeling of the stupifys that he had received that night.

Draco pinched his forehead, his headache still pounding at the back of his eyes. "I think I remember smelling someone here. I don't think they smelled familiar but I could be wrong, everything is so blurred." Granger fished through her bag for a pen and paper, she needed to take notes, but Draco stopped her. "If you're going to interrogate me, can we please do it over breakfast? Being werewolf consumes a lot of energy."

Hermione's eyes met his again. "Oh yes, of course! I'm sorry." The thought of food made Hermione's stomach rumble. "I suppose I could use some food too." She murmered softly.

Draco held out a hand indicating that she lead the way and they left the dungeon, the sweet smell of fresh pastries filled their nostrils as they came closer to the Breakfast dining room. Sitting in her usual spot to the left of the head of the table was his mother. "Draco!" She leapt from her seat and rushed over to Draco. "Darling, I was so worried." She embraced him and Draco wrapped his arms around his mother, slightly surprised that she would be so affectionate in front of guests. "Oh Hermione, I didn't see you there." His mother let go of him and folded her hands in front of her. _That's why,_ Draco thought to himself as Granger stepped out from behind him.

"I'm sorry, Narcissa, I didn't mean to intrude. I just needed to ask Draco some questions as soon as he woke up so that I could get any information from him before he forgets it," Hermione explained. She noticed that Narcissa wore elegant emerald robes. Did she ever dress informally?

"No, of course, dear, please join us, the elves always make such an abundance of food anyways." Narcissa motioned for Hermione to take a seat across from her as Draco took the head of the table.

Hermione sat down across from Narcissa and to Malfoy's right. As she looked at the two of them she suddenly felt very underdressed. She was still wearing her clothes from last night which constisted of jeans, a jumper and some old trainers. She had not been particularly concerned last night about her fashion but sitting here at the table she felt uncomfortable. Before she could put much more thought into it though the elves came into the room with trays of food in their hands, they placed them on the table and bowed and left. The trays were full of eggs, pastries, breakfast meats, a variety of fruit, and an entire dish dedicated to different types of spreads. One tray next to Draco remained covered. Hermione watched carefully as he uncovered the tray and dished himself what looked like a barely cooked steak. She watched as the blood seeped from the stake as Malfoy cut through his meat.

"It seems to be the only thing I can stomach right after the full moon," Draco stated, well aware that Granger was watching him slice into the rarest stake she had probably ever seen. He had tried eating it raw but his human instincts refused to let him put cold meat in his mouth, so from then on, he instructed the elves to simply sear the outside of the meat so it was warm enough to be palatable, but bloody enough to satisfy the werewolf.

Oddly, watching Malfoy eat basically raw meat didn't affect Hermione the way that it should. "It's understandable, though. Raw meat is a part of the werewolves diet, so it makes sense that you would need to eat it." Narcissa coughed politely and Hermione glanced her direction, realizing then that discussing raw meat was probably not the most polite of topics to talk about over breakfast. Hermione blushed slightly, picking up a croissant and began to nibble on it at as she laid out her parchment and pen to take notes. Malfoy continued to eat his steak as if she weren't there. _Is this how all meals at the Malfoy manor were eaten?_ she wondered. She and Narcissa had become friends but she had yet to have a sit down meal at the manor, usually she was here for balls, galas, and tea, which meant finger foods. "Okay, Malfoy, tell me what you remember from last night," she broke the silence again.

Malfoy paused, put down his silverware, and finished his bite. "From what I can recall it was another normal transformation. I remember the pain and then the wolf pacing, which is what it normally does when in the cell. Just paces all night."

"You don't remember anything odd?"

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the headache was still there but it had lessened since he had eaten some food and drank some water. He shifted through his thoughts, he definitely remembered Hermione's terrified face, _what else though..._ He cleared his mind, then one of the elves popped in to the room with some potions for the headache and the general pain that Draco had quietly requested when they served the food. The sound, however, brought another image to light. Through the wolf's eyes, he could see the the terrified-looking elves and it watched them disappear into thin air, much to the wolf's frustrations. "I remember the wolf was in the kitchen. The elves were working, it scared them and they disapparated." Draco opened his eye to see the elf who was placing the potion on the table. "What time did it come in to the kitchen last night?" He asked Tobby.

The little elf looked up at Draco with regretful eyes. "Tobby was not awake last night, sir. He was asleep in the elves quarters when Bobby came to wake Tobby, Minny, Nibsy, and Dolly."

"So Bobby and Diggly were awake last night?" Draco asked. Draco's memory was very fuzzy, he could remember the Houselves being there, he remembered fighting the wolf, and the next moment they were gone so who it was Draco could not clearly recall. "Bobby, Diggly," Draco called and, with two pops, the two elves appeared. "What time did the wolf come in to the kitchen last night?" Draco promptly demand.

Hermione watched the two elves look at each other. "Master Draco, it was close to two in the morning when the wolf came," the taller older one of the two informed Malfoy. Hermione noticed that the taller one looked remarkably like the Tobby, and now that she thought of it, they both had similar features to Dobby. _Did Dobby have brothers?_ She made a mental note to ask Malfoy, then she jotted down the time that Malfoy had been seen in the kitchen.

"Thank you, Bobby." Draco nodded then he looked over to Granger who was taking notes again. _Did this woman never not write anything down_? "Granger, do you have any questions for them?"

Hermione finished he note to find Malfoy's eyes gazing at her and her stomach made a small jump. She was not some giddy school girl, why was she having such ridiculous reactions to him? He was just another man, just like the many many men she dealt with on a day to day, and yet it was _this one_ that sent her stomachs into back flips. "Bobby, is it?" When the elf nodded she continued. "Can you tell me exactly what happened last night?"

Bobby's eye grew large. "Well, missus, that evening we's served seared trout for dinner, then after dinner we's cleaned up. The rest of the elves, after serving night caps and attending to Madam Narcissa, went to bed as we usually do. It was a full moon, though, so we's elves rotate who stays up to ensure Master Draco's safety." The elf started fidgeting with his hands. "But we's failed Master Draco last night, miss. We usually stay close to the stairs down to the dungeon so we's can hears the Master." Huge tears started to well up in the elf's eyes. "But last night, we's wanted to rearrange the kitchen again. So we's left Master Draco alone." The poor creature started wailing and then turned on its heel and ran to the closest wall to start head butting the wall. The other elf picked up and empty tray and started wacking itself over the head with it.

"Stop at once!" Draco exclaimed, the elves complied and the room sank into a quiet once again. "You shall not punish yourselves for this," Draco calmly commanded them.

The elves returned to Draco's side, once more sniffling "We's sorry Master, please forgives us."

Draco sighed. "You are forgiven, now please continue to tell Miss Granger about last night."

Bobby nodded again then looked at Hermione. "We's was in the kitchen rearranging the spices, and pans, and then Master Draco's wolf came leaping through the door. We's was very startled, but the creature did not attacks us, it stood for a moment, giving us time to aparate to Madam Narcissa, and the other elves. Bobby tooks Madam Narcissa to the front gate and Diggly gots the other evles. But Bobby had to go back of the ministry coin, and he broughts its back to Madam Narcissa. Then the Aurors arrived and we went to your flats."

Draco looked up from the elf to Granger. "You let them stay in your flat?"

"Oh, um yes. We need to get them away and sending them to the ministry in the middle of the night alone seemed silly. I'm sorry, was I not supposed to?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"No, no, not that. I'm just... Thank you. You didn't need to open your home to them. I appreciate your accommodation." Draco nodded gently.

"Oh yes, we's appreciate it too Missus Granger, there was so much to do at your flat, kept us very busy while we's waited." Bobby grinned.

Now Hermione was blushing, Malfoy must think she lived in a stye now. She kept her flat relatively clean, but it wasn't by any means spotless. "Well, thank you for cleaning, you really needn't too."

"We's pleased to help the Missus Granger and her's fluffy kneazle," squeaked Diggly a broad grin across his face. "The kneazle is very very nice."

Hermione giggled. "He can be, I'm sure he was thrilled to have so many hands to pet him."

"He was a rather endearing creature," Narcissa added fondly. "I half have a mind to get one of my own now."

Draco sighed. "While I'm sure Granger's cat is as wonderful as you all say he is, we must get back on track."

"Yes, of course." Hermione corrected. "Did you hear or see anyone else in the manor that wasn't supposed to be?" She asked the elves who shook their head in unison. "You didn't hear anything odd before the wolf entered the kitchen?" They shook their heads again. "Okay, thank you, that is all I have for you."

"You think someone broke in to our home to let Draco out?" Narcissa asked, fear rising in her voice.

"We can't confirm that yet, but Malfoy didn't break down the door, and was unable to let himself out." she said grimly.

"What about all those wards you set up?" Draco asked, a look of confusion and horror maring his features.

"I honestly don't know." Hermione shook her head. "No one should have been able to apparate in or out of the property without your consent. And I checked the wards last night and they were unbroken."

"Does that mean it was someone we gave previous consent too?" Narcissa's look of fear visible through her unflappable facade.

"I'm going to need a list of everyone in you have given consent to since we set up the wards," Hermione's voice stern.

Draco looked back at his mother there was a clear look of fear written on her face, and a burning rage built up in his blood. _Not again,_ he thought, he slammed a fist down on the table startling the two women. Fear and danger followed him where ever he went. _Fuck._


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Even though they had tripled checked the wards and set up new wards and defenses, Draco still walked around the Manor with a sense of unease. The thought that someone had been in his home to cause ill will was unnerving. Even worse Draco felt a nervousness leaving his mother alone in the house by herself. It had not been lost on Draco that he may have been intended to be a weapon against his mother and, ultimately, himself. Draco had never been so appreciative of Hermione and her cleverness, if it hadn't been for her coin and the fact that the house elves took extra precautions then the night could have ended in a horror story.

"Draco, you're stalling. Honestly just go, we'll be fine here." His mother's cool voice came from behind him.

Draco's shoulders sagged as he stood in front of the only open floo in the house. "I'm just concerned, mother. Leaving you here is leaving you vulnerable." Draco felt his mother's delicate hand lay itself on his shoulder.

"Number one, I would like you to remember that I am a perfectly capable witch, with far more experience with magic than you have had in the few short years you've been allowed to practice it. I had an entire life before you, may I remind you. Secondly, it's not like their whisking you off to some place far off, you're simply going to the ministry to make a official statement so they can start a proper investigation. That's all."

Draco leaned his cheek against her perfectly manicured hand, sighed deeply, then nodded. He turned smoothly, gave her a kiss on the cheek and, with a burst of green flames, he stood in the atrium of the ministry. He strode out of the fireplace and towards the fountain at the center of the room, where he noticed Granger waiting patiently for someone. She wore another pencil skirt, this time pairing it with a royal blue blouse.

"Malfoy," she greeted as he approached.

"Am I as lucky to have such a lovely escort on this fine day?" Draco asked her with a charming smile. He was greatly rewarded with a small smile.

"Well, as to lovely I can not say, but escort, yes. I'll be taking you to an interrogation room where we will take the official statement," Hermione answered, trying to avoid Malfoy's flirtations.

"We?"

"Yes, we. I'm your liaison for the program, and Harry will be heading up the investigation," she stated, her tone matter of factually.

"Perfect." Draco hadn't personally seen Potter since their eighth year, but defeating the Dark Lord surely didn't help with his already inflated ego and arrogance for the boy who lived twice, or whatever he was called these days. Draco took a steadying breath. He had grown up a lot since then so maybe boy wonder would be tolerable now that he had matured.

Hermione lead Draco to the lift. While they waited patiently for the next lift to arrive, Hermione's eye rolled over the passerbys, noticing that many of their eyes lingered on the two of them, more specifically Malfoy. She gazed at Malfoy who stood while his hands in his trousers and casually staring off into space, completely unaware of the looks that he was receiving. "People are staring at you," she mumbled to him, leaning in close enough that she caught a whiff of his cologne, again sending rushing feelings to her stomach.

Draco's attention snapped back to the present. He heard her breath hitch as he leaned in close. "They always do," he whispered softly, and her cinnamon eyes turned up towards his and he fought every nerve in his body to stop himself from kissing her again.

The bell for the lift dinged Hermione let go of a breath she had no idea she was holding. She was so caught in those gray eyes. She stepped on to the lift with Malfoy close behind. There were not a lot of people on the lift but it became uncomfortable when Hermione felt their eyes hanging on her and Malfoy. _Is it like this all the time for him? Because this would drive me insane._ There were six floors between the Atrium and the Auror's offices and the lift stopped for every single level and with every person that got on the lift more eyes fell on Hermione and her companion. Finally they made it to the second level and Hermione and Malfoy stepped off. "I don't know how you stand that," Hermione huffed as they walked down a long hallway.

Draco laughed to himself. "What, you've never garnered unwanted attention being the muggleborn who help defeat Voldemort?" He was thoroughly amused at how uncomfortable the attention made her.

"I was never really that famous. Harry was the one who got most of the attention and he hated it. He refused to go in to public for the longest time because he hated how people stared at him. I do get it occasionally, I guess, but I'm mostly flattered because typically it's little girls who want signatures and aspire to be like me," she explained to him.

"That can't be true. I've seen you in magazines and newspapers all the time; you're very famous," Draco countered back.

Hermione sighed in frustration, "Yes, well that's the media shining a light on me. In my day to day, I'm hardly famous." She paused for a moment a realization dawning on her. "You read the articles about me?"

Draco rolled his eyes, it seemed that no matter how many times he told her, she never believed his long-standing fascination with her. "Yes, Granger, I noticed when you made news articles."

She pushed open the interrogation room door to find Harry standing over the table looking over an open file. His emerald eyes swept up to greet her, and then fell on Malfoy. She entered the room, gestured for Malfoy to enter and take a seat.

Draco's eyes landed on wonder boy, and a irritation rose up in his chest, he tried his best to beat it down. He followed Granger's gesture, but held out a hand for Harry to shake before he sat. "Potter."

Harry gave him a clearly skeptical look but shook his hand regardless. "Malfoy."

Hermione stood in awe; never had she seen the two be so civil. Last time Malfoy offered Harry his hand Harry threw it back in his face. She shook herself from her amazement, closed the door and took the seat next to Harry and the men sat down, though Hermione did notice that Malfoy did wait until Harry was fully sitting to take his seat.

"Okay, this should be fairly simple. We have most of the things we need, we just needed review it one more time to ensure that we have everything," Harry started. He looked up at Malfoy and Malfoy nodded. "Now I'm going to use this memory of the conversation to use later if it is need, do I have your permission share it?"

"You have my permission." Draco nodded again.

Harry bobbed his head and then cast a memory enhancing charm on himself to ensure that the memory would be precise. Then slowly he had Malfoy go through the memories of the night asking for every imaginable detail, hoping that perhaps something new would surface, Malfoy however, stuck to his previous statements. Malfoy did handed over a detailed list of everyone who had visited to manor in the past two weeks. "Okay, is there anything else that you can think of?" Harry asked as they were wrapping up.

Draco watched them carefully as they took notes and looked over the list. Hermione was uneasy, Draco could tell that much, and Harry seemed to be aloof to the conversation. " There is one more thing. The other day I was in Diagon Alley, picking up some ingredients, and someone started to follow me. And I don't think it's the only time."

This caught Harry's attention. "Did you get a good look at them?"

Draco shook his head. "They kept their cloak hood up the entire time so I never saw their face, but I think it was a man, based on the shoulder width and height. Probably somewhere around six foot, broad shoulders, larger than average body type, and they wore a simple black cloak, looked like they could have got it anywhere."

"Okay, that's all great information. Why did you say you don't think it's the first time?" Harry asked as he wrote down the information.

Draco looked over to Hermione who was now chewing on her lip, staring at him. "Because I've felt like I have been watched for a few weeks. It started at a Quidditch pickup game on the eleventh." Draco gave Hermione an apologetic look. "Then again on our date in the park two Fridays ago." Draco bit back the self loathing as he watched Hermione pale. He never wanted to put her in danger and, as of late, it was all he was seemingly able to do.

Harry looked at Hermione and they exchanged a wordless conversation. "Okay, thank you, Malfoy. We'll be in touch. We have some investigative work to do right now, and in light of this recent information, we'll be posting a bodyguard to you. They won't be invasive, but certainly present," Harry instructed.

Draco sighed, just what he needed: another stalker; there goes any sense of privacy he enjoyed. "Is that all?" When Harry nodded, Draco stood. "Thank you," and he turned to leave. He didn't make it far, however, before Granger was calling his name down the hallway. Draco stopped, already regretting what he was about to say to her.

"Malfoy," Hermione caught up to him. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't think it was anything until Saturday. I thought I was just being paranoid," he pointed out.

Hermione nodded, not truly understanding why Malfoy kept everything so close to the cuff, but that was not the issue right this moment. "You could have told me though, I would have listened."

Draco scoffed. "Oh, 'cause you and I are on such close terms. Really, Granger, this entire time we have been seeing each other, you have kept me at arms distance. I honestly I didn't blame you I understood your hesitation, so I put up with it. But we were nowhere near sharing dark deep secrets."

Hermione was taken back, what was she supposed to say? Malfoy was right. She had been keeping distance between them. "But then why tell me all of that stuff over dinner? I thought that meant something."

Draco hung his head, the fact of the matter was that it did mean something to him. He was not particularly in the practice of sharing his detailed history. "Look, Granger, I told you that stuff so maybe you wouldn't hold me at a distance. I was making an effort, that's what all those conversations were. But we can't do this anymore, you and me. I..." He trailed off, watching her sorrowfully. He couldn't put her in anymore danger. She had already lived through her fair share of peril in her life, she didn't deserve to be thrown back into the fire after her life had become stable and comfortable. "Just can't," he finished slowly. He exhaled, hanging his head and turning away from her.

Hermione refused to just let it go, damn her Gryffindor tendencies. She grabbed the crook of his arm before he could get to far away from her. "No, Draco, that's not enough, you can't just walk away expecting me to accept a 'just cause'."

Draco stopped, but refused to look at her. She had only used his name one other time and it was in similar way, because she was trying to make it a point. There was more Slyhterin in her than she probably wanted to acknowledge. Draco rolled his head back in frustration and then looked over his shoulder so she was standing in his peripheral. "Granger, I can't put you in anymore danger, you have suffered enough." He broke her grip and walked away, his heart wrenching.

"You don't get to decide that for me," Hermione yelled after him, her temper rising, who did he think she was? Some delicate woman who couldn't handle a little danger, did he know anything about her? She stormed after him, grabbing his arm again, this time ripping his arm hard enough that he stumbled back towards her. "I'm not some china doll, do you even realize how skilled I am? Do you even know how many dark wizards I've taken on and held my own?" Her voice loud and antagonizing.

"In case you forgot, Granger, those _dark wizards_ were my family and friends." Draco could feel his temper bubbling under his skin, but he was in public and losing it could be catastrophic. The Malfoy name held a weight and foolish outbursts diminished it, so his voice remained cool and even. "I have never doubted your abilities, however, it is not lost on me that you deserve better. That I suddenly come back into your life and all of the sudden danger is lurking over your shoulder." His eyes never strayed from hers, the world around him lost to the amber orbs in front of him. " You don't deserve that. You deserve rest, and peace, and happiness." He tucked a stray curl behind her ear before he even realized what he was doing. He grimaced, recognizing that he should not have done that, his hand clenching next to her ear, self-loathing taking over again. He took another breath and dropped his hand to his side, his head hung low. "And clearly I'm not giving you any of those things. So I can't, I can't do this and put you in more danger." It was then that he looked up again, to see Potter standing in the distance over Granger's shoulder. _Shit, how long has he been there?_ Draco took a deep breath and turned for the last time, leaving Granger in his wake.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Yay! Thank you everyone your responses have been so wonderful and I'm so thrilled you're liking the Fic! Now if you're not one for spoilers, then please stop reading here... But if you're not one for smut, then please know that I have a page break just before it gets intense, that is the rest of the chapter however, so I might post an early chapter depending on your response. Otherwise, please know it's my first time writing smut, so if it sucks I'm sorry let me know and I will just keep to story telling until I get the hang of it.**

 **Chapter 20**

Harry had tried to talk to Hermione about what he saw in the hallway but Hermione wanted nothing to do with it. She was at work and that certainly was not the place to talk about being dumped by a guy that she wasn't technically seeing. She had better things to do other than thinking about _him._ So she kept herself busy for the rest of the day, not even giving herself time to eat because she didn't want to waste a single moment on _him_. She was mulling over some paperwork at her desk when a soft knock came to the door. "Come in," she beckoned, still reading the memo when the door opened.

"Hermione, it's five." Harry leaned up against the door frame.

"Thank you, Harry, I'm well aware of the time," she said matter of factly, still not bothering to look up at him.

Harry hung his head. "Hermione, let's go home. The work day is over."

Hermione shot him a cross look, but after all these years Harry didn't even shudder. Sure, she used to send him dirty looks and he would back down instantly, but not anymore; he'd become immune to them. "I have work to finish." Her eyes returned to the paperwork in front of her.

Harry chuckled to himself and stepped in to her office, closing the door behind him. He crossed the room and leaned up against her desk. "Hermione, I get you didn't want to talk about it at work, but that does not mean you can stay at work forever to avoid it."

Sometimes she hated how well Harry knew her. To everyone else it probably looked like she was just having an extremely productive day; to Harry though, she was avoiding something. "Harry, I really do have things to finish," she whined at him, rolling her head back to look at him perched on her desk.

"I understand, Hermione, but that work will also be here tomorrow. It is only Monday so you have an entire week to finish it." Harry grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to him, pulling her into a tight hug.

Ugh, this man understood her, for as much as she hated his familiarty of her, she appreciated it more than anything on the planet. She stood there in his embrace for a long time, letting the raw emotions roll over her and in to his chest. "It's so stupid," she mumbled in to his chest. "We weren't even really a thing."

Harry rubbed her back. "I know. Come on, I'll take you home and we can order in some Chinese and talk."

Hermione looked up at him. "What about Ginny?"

"I told her this morning about the interview and said I might be late."

Hermione smirked, _of course he did,_ she nodded and grabbed her things and they left for her flat. Once they had both flooed in, she put a kettle on the stove and then ordered some food from a muggle restaurant down the street. She sat there after they had finished eating, on the couch with her belly full, staring off into the distance. Malfoy's words running through her head.

Harry just watched her for a moment. "So what is it then?"

Hermione shook her head "I'm not really sure." She paused for a moment. "We've been seeing each other on and off and in no official capacity for a just about a month now. I mean, hell, to call it seeing each other is a stretch." She looked at him, "But it's the first time I've clicked with someone. When we were on that date, Harry, it was truly a side of Malfoy that I had never seen. He was open and explained so many things and, for the first time in my life, I thought that there was a good man underneath all that history. He really had no choice when it came to any of it, and..." She trailed off. "It sounded a lot like you." Her voice softened. "He was thrown into a war with a title that he never asked for, sure it was on the wrong side, but nonetheless he was just a child dealing with really grown up shit. Shit that none of us should have had to deal with as just kids. His childhood was taken from him just like yours, he was raised to play this part without any any idea what he was doing. And my heart breaks for him, but it is also so amazing to me how far he has come. He had to overcome so much to get to where he is today."

"Take, for instance, today when I met him in the Atrium." Hermione was full on ranting now, but she knew that's what Harry had intended to happen, damn him. "Everyone stared at him, and not in a nice way, people leered at him, assuming that he's the same death eater he was back then, even though he never was a death eater. Could you imagine what that feels like to have people assume that you're so evil and vile when you don't deserve it."

Harry chuckled. "Yes, Hermione, I happen know very much what that feels like."

Hermione stopped, of course Harry did. Fudge had ostracized Harry just before the return of Voldemort, and then, while Voldemort was in power he was undesirable number one. "Okay, yes you do," she conceded, "but the point is that he's still dealing with it and the war has been over for a long time now. At least when the war ended you were treated like a hero, he is still treated like a villain. But he just deals with it, he doesn't let it bother him, and he is slowly working to gain his reputation back, and be better than he was. That takes character, and strength and humility..." She trailed off again.

"And I think I was really starting to like the Malfoy I was seeing, and I feel robbed that I won't get to see it anymore. That he's putting up the same walls because..." Why was Malfoy putting up the walls again. She thought back to earlier. _It is not lost on me that you deserve better. That I suddenly come back into your life and all of the sudden danger is lurking over your shoulder._ "He thinks I deserve

more, that he only puts me in danger."

Harry nodded. "Yes, I did catch that part of the conversation." Harry paused and leaned forward. "Look, when you said that you were semi-seeing Malfoy, I was in no way on board. I was in no way okay with you liking that prat. At all. But then you started sharing all these things, started telling me about how he's changed, and I decided that maybe he deserves a chance to prove himself, like Ginny said." He caught her eye. "When I stepped out of the hallway today, and you were yelling at him, I thought for sure that things had reverted back to the way it use to be. I was relieved for a moment because that would mean this would be over, that I would never have to look or consider Malfoy outside of a professional stance. I watched his temper rise and for a half a moment I thought I was going to have to step in, but then everything changed. The look he gave you Hermione, I'd never seen Ron give you a look like that. It was like you were the only thing in the world that existed to him, that you were the only thing that truly mattered in his little fucked up universe. I have been waiting years for someone to look at you like that, because you deserve that kind of love. If someone had told me before that moment that it would be him to give you that look, I would have locked them up in St. Mungo's, but I saw it."

Hermione's breath hitched, was that the confrimation she had been waiting for all this time? Malfoy was right, she had been keeping him at a distance, but only because she wasn't sure that he was serious, because she didn't know if this was the real him. Harry had seen it though, and Harry had always been the one person she relied on completely, because he got her. "Harry, I gotta go."

Harry gave her a look of sheer confusion. "What?"

"I have to go." She picked up her wand and slipped on some shoes, "I have to tell him..." She stopped. She had no idea what she was going to do or say but she just needed to see him now. "I don't know, I just have to see him." Before Harry could get another word in edgewise, Hermione stepped into the fireplace and green flames engulfed her. The next moment she was standing alone in the Malfoy's foyer. It just then when it dawned on her that this was quite rude: to show up at someone's house unannounced and uninvited. She toyed with going back before anyone noticed for a moment when a house elf appeared in front of her.

The elf bowed low. "Welcome, miss. We were not aware guests were expected. I can take you to my masters."

"Nibsy, who are you talking to?" Hermione's heart skipped a beat as Malfoy voice carried in from the drawing room, closely followed by his footsteps. Instantly, Hermione began to regret her rash decision.

Draco rounded the corner of the foyer to find Granger standing in the only open floo. "Granger, what are you doing here?" he asked stepping closer to her carefully, as if he were approaching lion.

Hermione took a deep breath, there's no going back now. She found her courage, and looked at him with ferocity. "I've come to tell you that you're wrong, Malfoy. You don't get to dictate my life, and if I want to keep seeing you, I will do so." She stepped out of the fireplace and stood in the middle of the room.

Draco clenched his teeth. "Granger, it's dangerous to be around me," he gritted out. "And in case you forgot seeing someone requires both parties consent."

"I had not forgotten, but I refuse to accept your refusal" She walked closer to him. "You see, Malfoy, there is something between us, I can't thoroughly describe it, but I know it's there. You're right, I've been keeping you at a distance because I was afraid you weren't being sincere. Now I know that you are being sincere, and I can't just let you walk away from me because you think I might get a scratch."

Draco clenched his fists, this woman clearly had no idea what was good for her. "Granger, it would be more than a scratch you'd be getting. I'm dangerous, I have people who want to hurt me, and I can't let you get hit in the crossfire."

Hermione refused to back down as she moved closer to him. They were feet from each other. "I don't give a damn. I have been in the cross hairs before and I didn't run away then, and I won't do it now," her voice terse.

"Granger..." Draco growled, becoming very aware of how close she was getting to him. "You deserve better than this, better than me."

Hermione smirked, closing the gap between them. "Shut up, Draco." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his in a deep fiery passion that lit fireworks in her belly. She had waited her entire life for someone to have this effect on her, and here she was, standing in her school nemesis' home, kissing him with years of pent up yearning.

Draco's heart exploded inside his chest cavity. She tasted so sweet and alluring that he couldn't believe his taste buds. He quickly wrapped his arms around her frame and pulled her into his body with an earth shattering force. She was hot and desperate on his lips and he craved every moment of it. Though this was not the first kiss they shared it was certainly the most important.

He picked her up by her backside, her skirt bunching around her hips as she wrapped her thighs around his hips. He carried her in to the drawing room, laying her down on the lounger. She moaned into his mouth, sending his blood rushing. She nipped on his bottom lip, sucking it into her mouth for a moment, seductively asking for more. Draco complied. He ran his hand down her side, pulling her blouse from her waist band then sliding it up off her head, tossing it on the floor beside them. She unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his toned midsection, tossing it to the floor with hers. Her skin felt like satin against his chest as he vigorously kissed her. His lips no longer satisfied with just her mouth, Draco traveled down her neck kissing, nipping and sucking the way to her collar bone. His hand moved up to her bra, pulling the cup down, revealing her hard rosey nipple that was just begging to be teased, and Draco obliged by taking the lovely thing in to his mouth, sucking and rolling his tongue around the sensitive skin.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat, a tingling feeling flowing from her breast to her folds, now slick with anticipation. She felt Draco's hand pulling down the zipper on her hip to the pencil skirt that she had yet to take off today. She lifted her hips, the cold air chilling her nipple when Draco released it from his hot mouth, and he very slowly, very methodically pulled her skirt off her body tossing it to the side with the other discarded clothing. Draco raised himself up over her, pulled his wand out of his trouser pocket and with a flick of his wrist Hermione heard the doors to the room close and then he mumbled what she was sure was a muffling spell. He then slowly unfastened his belt and trousers, sliding them down to the floor and for a moment the two of them admired each other in their in the undergarments. "Last chance, Granger, or I take you" Draco warned.

Hermione smiled. "Take me."

* * *

Draco gave her a roguish smile, he bent over her hooking his fingers in to her lacy knickers, inching them down her thighs, teasing her with impatience. Hermione waited for the lace to fall off her ankles. If he wanted to go painstakingly slow, she could play that game, she slowly sat up and smiling up at him as he towered over her, his pale figure glowing in the warm light. She traced her hands up his thighs then gently slowly pulled down his boxers, exposing his member to the open air. She let the boxers fall to the ground as she kissed his lower stomach, ignoring the twitching cock beside her.

Draco let a low guttural growl, her lips were leaving hot imprints in his skin. He wanted her so badly, and it took every ounce of strain not to bend her over and just take her. He had plans though, he wanted to milk this for every moment he could. He had dreamed about this for too long to fuck it up now. He opened his eyes and looked down at her when her kisses stopped peppering his abdomen. She was sitting just in front of him, his length millimeters from her mouth, her breath taunting his sensitive head, she gave him devilish smile as her nails caressed the insides of his thighs. Then she delicately took his sack into the palm of her hand and licked his shaft the flat of her tongue, Draco nearly lost it. His body shuddered with pleasure and a husky moan escaped his mouth as his head rolled back. Then he felt her take him in to her mouth smoothly, rhythmically gliding up and down his length, his hand wrapped itself in her curls his thumb tracing circles on her scalp. Then without warning he felt her plunge his full length into her mouth his head sliding down her throat. Draco choked with surprise and pleasure, but now had an overwhelming need to get her off of him before he came to early. When she came back up his shaft, Draco grabbed her curls and pulled her off of him, guiding her spine to the back if the lounger so she was reclining all the way back. He smiled at her as he slowly sank to his knees. "Isn't that a lovely trick?"

She smiled back at him. "I'm full of surprises," she teased, but Draco didn't respond. He just smirked at her. His hand however, moved to her back unclasping her bra, slowly pulling it off of her. She watched him as he took her nipple into his mouth, his hand massaging the other. She closed her eyes, a soft mew escaping her lips as her head rolled over the top of the lounger. She felt him leave her nipples. "Well, you see, I have a few tricks of my own." Then she felt his smooth tongue plunge into her folds. Hermione's hand clenched the cushion. She took a sharp breath as she felt the tip of his tongue massage her clit.

She moaned loudly. "Ooohhh, more," she pleaded. Draco sucked harder on her clit, the broad of his tongue now lapping away at her, and felt his fingers plunge into her depths. "Yessss..." She felt his fingers sliding up and down her sensitive wall and she could feel her body starting to tingle with warmth and her muscles ache for release. "Dracooo..." She whispered.

Draco could see her chest heaving as she neared the edge, he was relentless in his ministrations. He was sure he could bring her to orgasm twice and he wanted to taste her in his mouth. "Draco..." she called again, but Draco continued. He could feel her growing hotter against his tongue. He picked up his pace, his tongue vigorously massaging her bud while fingers thrummed against her g-spot. Her moans became more and more fevered, her panting haggard. Then suddenly she yelped, her hips bucking forward as hot juices filled his mouth and he felt her thumping on his fingers, Draco smiled and gave one last lick before he moved up to her mouth again, her taste on his lips as he kissed her.

"See?" he whispered in her mouth. His hands grabbed her hips and pulled her down on to his lap where he began kissing her again, the fire in the background still crackling. He rotated them on to the soft Persian rug and laid her down kissing her neck while he positioned himself between her legs. He looked into her eyes as placed his head at her opening then kissed her passionately as he entered her. Draco took his time kissing her, praising her as he worked her back up for her second orgasm, and once again he watched her chest start to heave and her head roll back and he quickened his pace to intensify the feeling.

Hermione felt the second orgasm coming. She felt her stomach tingle, her muscles ache, her toes curl. "Draco..." she moaned again, as she felt him pound in to her. "Oh please," she whispered. She felt his pace intensify, his need for her clear in the way he reacted to her voice. Then, with another call of pleasure, she was sent over the edge, her entire body throbbing with the remnants of her orgasm, and with a few short pumps, she felt Draco bury himself in her as he throbbed inside of her, his seed spilling from her.

Draco touched his forehead to hers. It was everything he had imagined and more than he ever thought he deserved. He kissed her again, this time deeply as if he were trying to convey his emotions through his lips. When he looked at her again his heart twinged, she was laying beneath him softly smiling as if she understood everything he was trying to tell her. Her hand moved up and brushed his hair from his face. "I don't know about you, but I like post-coital snacks," she said with a smirk.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Hermione woke up the next morning nestled in charcoal silk sheets. It took her a moment to remember where she was, but when she realized it was Draco's arms wrapped around her waist, she smiled. There was a part of her that had feared that last night was just the most epic sex dream she ever had. She rolled over to see a sleeping Malfoy, he must have been exhausted. After the time in the drawing room they managed to go again in the kitchen (when they were supposed to have been eating snacks), that time had been more frenzied than the first, and then they retired to his room, snacks in hand. There was a third round which had been just as slow and romantic as the first. Hermione reaffirmed after the third round that he was truly as infatuated with her as he'd claimed, no man had ever made love to her like that. He painstakingly took his time to make sure she enjoyed every single moment of it, he had whispered sweet nothings to her over and over again, as if were the last time he'd get to say it. She sighed, it was easily the best sex she ever had and now, looking at him in his sleep form, she was sure it was probably the best sex she'd ever have, and a small over exuberant part of herself wondered if he would be the only sex she'd ever have again. She quashed that thought down though, it was way too early to have thoughts like that, there was still a million things that could go wrong. Draco moaned as the morning sun woke him. She smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. "Good morning," she whispered, biting her lip waiting for him to open his eyes.

Draco opened his eyes to a smiling Hermione nibbling on her lip. She looked far too happy for the hour of the morning. "Please tell me you're not a morning person." He rolled onto his back covering his eyes with his forearm.

"Depends on how I slept." She moved to sit on top of him, still naked from last night's activities. "And if I'm waking up alone," she took his member into her hand and started pumping his morning wood slowly, "or if I have a partner to make mornings more enjoyable." She gave him a cheeky grin.

Draco lifted his arm and looked at her, he could certainly get used to this. "Oh really?" And before he could say another word she lifted her hips and she took him again. It wasn't until they got out of the shower after thier morning romp and were laying on his bed in towels that they had an actual conversation since she had shown up the night before. "It's my turn to interrogate you," he announced to her as he rolled on his side, still wrapped in a towel.

"And how do you figure that?" She shot back sharply.

"Well, when we went to dinner I told you everything you wanted to know, now it's my turn," he informed her.

Hermione thought for a moment, there wasn't really anything about her life that she wanted to hide so she figured there was no harm. "Okay, fine, ask away," she smiled.

"No lying. I'll know," Draco warned her. She rolled her eyes at him but held out her hand and shook on it anyways. "What happened between you and Weasley?"

Hermione was slightly taken back, she figured he'd work up to that at least. "Right off the bat?"

"I heard about you two breaking it off while I was traveling, and I just wanted to know," he said simply.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Okay, well, I think there was several reasons really. Firstly we got together right about the war so we were on this adrenaline high and it seemed perfect. I had been pining after him on and off for years, so after the battle it just seemed like we were meant to be together, and we just kind of rushed in to it because we thought everything would just fall into place like the fairy tales." She paused. "But we spent most of our time bickering at each other."She fiddled with the sheets in her hand. "Yet everyone kept telling us we were so perfect for each other that it was so "cute" that we fought like an old couple. So I just assumed that was the way it was supposed to be. Relationships are never easy per se, so I thought it was okay to fight all the time." She shrugged. "So we just kept at it, then he proposed and I said yes. We moved in together, then all the fights just got worse and we were both just miserable." She sighed deeply. "He's the one that called it off, and I don't blame him. If I wasn't so wrapped in work I probably would have done it sooner." She looked at Draco. "Long story short, we weren't right for each other."

Draco nodded. "I could have told you that, though."

Hermione smacked his chest. "Like you know what's good for me."

Draco didn't flinch. "I knew that Weasley was never going to be enough for you. You're to smart. You need someone to challenge you, keep up with you, smart people don't do well when they're bored."

"Oh, and like you're smart enough for me" she said with an eyebrow cocked at him.

Draco shrugged casually. "I am. I was second to you throughout Hogwarts, and I'm sure as hell better for you than Weasley."

Hermione folded her arms together. "We'll see about that. Next question."

Draco smiled. "Did you lose it to Weasley?"

Hermione blushed hard, biting her lip, thinking for a moment, she decided she had to answer honestly. "No."

Draco cocked an eyebrow at her, he was sure Weasley popped her cherry. "Who did you lose it too?"

"Draco..." Hermione whined.

"No, come on, you asked me terribly sensitive questions," Draco egged.

"You're going to hate me." Hermione warned.

"Come on, out with it."

"Harry." Hermione grimaced.

Draco's jaw just about hit the floor. "You lost it to Potter?!"

Hermione sighed, and nodded. "That's not even the worst part." She looked at Draco who was clearly waiting for her to elaborate. "Ron doesn't know."

Draco was sure he look like a fool his mouth gaping and his eyes wide with shock. "Weasley thinks he popped it when he never did?"

Hermione bit her lip, now that Draco was saying it aloud, it sounded way worse than it did in her head, but she slowly nodded.

"Wow." Draco laid back into his bed. "Why didn't you tell him? And how did you end up sleeping with Potter?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "It is a long explanation." When Draco gestured for her to continue, she took another deep breath. "Well, Harry and I decided way before Ron and I dated officially that we'd never tell Ron, or Ginny. Ron has always been in Harry's shadow, and always had a bit of a chip on his shoulder about it. We honestly believed that if we told him that he'd leave us again and never come back." Draco gave her a confused look. "When we were horcrux hunting our eighth year, Ron and Harry got in to this really big fight, then Ron turned to me and asked me to leave with him, and I told him I couldn't. I couldn't just leave Harry by himself, we had to bring down Voldemort and Harry was the only person that could do it. Ron left anyways, and he was gone two and a half months." Hermione started playing with the sheets again. "And well, Harry was missing Ginny and I was so hung up over Ron that we were just so lonely and hurt, and we felt like nothing was going to bring Voldemort down, that we just leaned on each other emotionally. Until one day...it just kind of happened, I guess." Hermione smiled weakly. "Harry has a very soft heart beneath it all, and I was just a mess over Ron leaving us that he tried to lighten the mood dancing with me, there was no music and it was a silly dancing. But it was the first time in weeks I'd smiled and laughed, and we just got caught up in the moment." She shrugged. "And it felt so good the first time that we just kept doing it, and then all of a sudden, Ron came back, and Harry explained to me what Ron saw when they triggered the locket's curse." Hermione looked up at Draco realizing he didn't know what she was talking about.

She took a steadying breath. "Each of the Horcruxes had a curse on it to protect it, right? So the curse the locket had was to point out the attacker's darkest fears, like a boggart except an emotional attack. So when the curse was triggered Ron saw Harry and I together, and it was telling him how worthless he was and that no one would ever love him so on and so forth. Except it was the curse version of me telling him this, as I was snogging Harry." Hermione watched the puzzle click into place in Draco's eyes. "So we agreed we could never tell Ron. Harry said he wasn't going to tell Ginny, but I'm pretty sure he did because Ginny refused to look at me for a long time and like freaked out every time Harry and I talked, it's fine now, but it was rough there for a little bit. And by the time that the war was over it had been so long since it had happened that Ron would have lost it knowing that we kept it from him. I swore to myself that I would tell him before we got married because I couldn't keep it from him forever. But then things got really hard between us and we fought all the time so there was just never a good time really, and then he called off the engagement, so there was really no reason to tell him anymore." Hermione shrugged.

Draco mulled this information over in his head, he was never a fan of Potter but even less of a fan of Weasley. "Wow, Granger, who knew you could keep a secret like that. How downright Slytherin of you." Draco fended off her attack this time, laughing at her. "Don't you have to go to work today? It's Tuesday," Draco divereted, he didn't need the gritty details of her past, but he needed to know if there was risdule feelings for Weasly, but instead found that he needed to watch Potter.

Hermione shrugged. "I'll send an owl in a bit, let them know I'm under the weather. I never take days off, so Bateman never fights me when I don't show up for work."

"How naughty of you Granger, playing hooky, lying to your boss. Are you sure you were a Gryffindor?" Draco teased, but she smiled mischievously back at him. " Well then, since I have you to myself all day, I hardly see the need to leave the room." His long fingers traced her legs up to her hips then brushing her nipple, then pulled her face in for a kiss.

"Sound logic to me," she murmured into his lips, then moved herself on top of him.

They just snogged for a long time, not really taking it anywhere. There was some touching and groping but, for the most part, they just enjoyed being close together. When she rolled off of him to lay her head on his chest, he decided that he would continue his line of questioning. "So after you and Weasley split, what happened then?"

Hermione kissed his chest. "Well, it was awkward for a long time we could barely look at each other, but then he started seeing this girl in his office, Sara. So I started casually dating for about a year because I'd never truly dated before, but I just got tired of it. Dating is so exhausting and the sex was never what it was with Ron, so I stopped dating and focused on work."

Draco nodded, he didn't particularly care how many other men Hermione had been with, Merlin knew Draco had his fair share of women. "This next one is a two part. First, at the ball why did you kiss me back? I thought for sure that you would hex me for just looking at you. Second, what made you stop?"

Hermione rolled on to her chest looking Draco in the eye. "First, I was so taken by the way you kissed me, I don't think anyone ever has kissed me with that amount of passion. It was like you lit my body on fire, and all I wanted was more. Second, I stopped because I was sure it was some kind of trick. I was sure that you were going to spread it around about how easy I was or something and I didn't want to be hurt by you."

Draco nodded, he had expected as much. It must have seemed insane to her for him to say what he did. "What changed your mind? Why did you show up here last night?"

"Harry." Hermione smiled. "Harry caught the latter part of our conversation yesterday, and he just said some things that put it into perspective for me."

"Do you need his stamp of approval for everything?" Draco began to wonder if there was more to Harry and Hermione's relationship then she was letting on.

Hermione scoffed, the idea that she needed Harry's approval for anything was laughable. "No, I don't. Harry just knows me better than anyone. We spent so much time relying on each other that we just understand how the other functions. The problem is that I was too close to it, too scared of what may happen, that I couldn't see you and what you were doing. Harry did see it, and pointed it out to me in a way he knew I'd understand."

Draco was going to have to thank boy wonder. _Fuck._ "How do you mean you relied on each other?" he probed, now thoroughly interested in how deep their friendship went.

Hermione took another deep breath. Draco was being quite thorough in his questioning. " Well, when Ron left we were the only thing the other had. We weren't talking to anyone in the outside world, it was just us. We were incredibly isolated so we just talked about everything all the time to keep our minds busy and keep the silence at bay. So we learned each others habits and thought processes, it took the friendship that we already had to this insane level. That's also why we ended up sleeping together. We were just so comfortable together that it just felt good, I guess. That comfort never went away either. Even when Ron came back, Harry and I understood each other on a whole other level than Ron and I did. For a long time I was convinced that the understanding would come when Ron and I slept together, but it just never did. After the war I started suffering from what Muggles call PTSD, we all did, but Harry was the worst. He would thrash and yell, there were times where he'd wake up convinced he was being chased and he would run out of the house firing spells at anyone who came after him. Everyone except me. I was the only one who could bring him back, I was the only one who could ground him. So I spent much of the summer after the war bringing Harry down from his episodes."

She sighed. "And while Harry primarily had night terrors, I had panic attacks. I would just be doing something normal and there would be a sound or a flash of light, and my entire body would freeze, and I couldn't breath, my heart would just start racing, and all I could see and feel around me was the terrors of the war. Being chased through the woods, being crucioed, the battle of Hogwarts exploding around me, and I just couldn't escape it. I would get stuck in these memories as the panic of it all washed over me again and again. Harry was the only one that could bring me back, it drove Ron insane with jealousy. He tried everything that Harry did to calm me down but it never worked, Harry always had to step in."

"I'm sorry." Draco squeezed her tightly, knowing that he had a hand in her panic attacks, and knowing that she had suffered so immensely because of it, made Draco's heart cringe. He had dealt with his own PTSD. His mother went as far as bringing a mind healer to help Draco manage his own night terrors, but he always felt he deserved to be punished for what he had done, despite the healer saying otherwise. "I'm so fucking sorry, Hermione."

Hermione kissed his chest again. "I know, Draco. I know." Then they laid there for a long time in silence, letting the remorse of their lost childhoods sink in. It wasn't until one of the house elves popped in with a late breakfast that they started talking again. Hermione finally sending in word that she wouldn't be making it to work. They sat on his bed eating croissants and muffins, joking and laughing together. Hermione could not have asked for a more perfect morning. When the afternoon sun warmed the balcony they decided to bask in the sun for a bit, Draco still insisting on no clothes, even though they had already gone two more rounds since their late breakfast, but gave in when Hermione demanded on wearing at least a robe. She watched Draco lounging on the outdoor chair naked when she finally got up the nerve to ask him. "The scars on you chest. What are they from?" Hermione had seen them many times at this point run her fingers along them a few time even. She was afraid she knew the answer but still wanted to know for sure.

Draco cocked an eyebrow at her. "I'm sure Potter told you," he drawled.

Hermione grimaced, she was afraid of that answer. "Well, if it's any consolation, I yelled at him for using that spell against you. I even came to see you once while you were in the hospital wing."

"I know," Draco said lazily.

"You knew that I yelled or that I came to see you?" she wondered.

"Both," he replied.

"You were still unconsious when I saw you." A look of surprise crossed her face.

"I was, I was just pretending to be, if you knew I was awake I would have had to say mean things to you and push you away. So I pretended so I could just enjoy your presence."

"But I said things..." A look of horror on Hermione's face.

Draco gave her a mischievous smiled, sliding off his chair and moving towards her smoothly. "Oh yes, you did, I think you apologized several times, cursed Harry a few times." He slid his hands up her legs, parting them to place himself between them and then pulling her hips to the edge of the chair. He then slowly untied the knot to her robe, pulling it down to the side so her skin was completely exposed to him. "Then I think you said something about how truly handsome I was, and that maybe in a different life." He slipped his fingers into her fold, her heat radiating from her skin as he lowered himself down to her clit again, licking with the top of his tongue.

Hermione's breath became ragged. While this was not where she intended this conversation to go she wasn't going to stop him. She moaned in pleasure as his hot breath teased her and his fingers slowly moved in and out of her. Draco was very very good at this, Ron was the only other man to go down on her and he was not nearly a methodical about it as Draco. Hermione was so enveloped with Draco's mouth pleasuring her that she completely forgot that they were on the balcony where she could be heard by other people. "Oh, Draco, please," she pleaded with him. She always wanted more from him. This time Draco did not comply with her wishes. He kept slowly pumping his fingers in and out of her, meticulously massaging her folds and clit with his tongue. She begged some more, she could feel the build up in her legs and her lower stomach. She just wanted him to finish her. She wanted the release of pleasure so much that her pleading gave in to begging, and begging rather loudly for all to hear. "Dracoooo, please, please," she moaned as she could feel her build up against his fingers. "Oh please just fuck me." And before Hermione knew what was going on Draco had pulled her down onto his erection, pumping quickly in and out of her, his thickness and length hitting her sensitive spots, sending her over the edge. She called out in pleasure as the orgasm washed over her and, much to her satisfaction, he was not far behind her, his juices once again spilling into her depths. "I hope this never gets old," she mumbled lazily in to his ear.

"Well if you're doing it right, it shouldn't," he laughed.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Yay two chapters today! Because their both on the shorter side! Yay? Hahaha. Thank you again for you responses, I'm so glad the last two chapters went over well I was so worried about putting them up, so I'm excited you guys like them! Hope you guys like where the these two chapters take us!**

 **Chapter 22**

Hermione took a deep breath and refocused her eyes on the files in front of her, spread widely on her living room floor. She had been working all day and Draco was due to come over for dinner shortly. She had meant to work only for a few hours, then clean her flat and herself up before he got there, not that she thought that he would care about the chaos, but it made her feel better. Once again, however, she fell down the deep hole of work without even realizing it. She started shuffling her work around in neat stacks just as her fireplace erupted in green flames and Draco casually strolled into her tiny flat. She looked up at him, once again flawless, as if he had just walked out of a muggle magazine. He never ceased to amaze her. "Hey," she smiled up at him.

"I see you've had an eventful Saturday," Draco smirked, his hands in his pockets.

"Well, it would have been eventful if I actually found something," Hermione huffed in frustration. It had been three weeks since Draco was mysteriously let loose at the Manor and Hermione had been working furiously. She went over backgrounds of the few people that had been let into the property, she had tripled checked alibis and everyone had checked out. She had gone over the wards and floos, interviewed everyone thoroughly and she had not one piece of evidence that anyone was there. How was she supposed to protect Draco from a ghost? And with the impending full moon her stress levels were starting to peak.

Draco was starting to pick up on the cues Hermione gave off, the subtle hints that she was lost in thought. She wasn't hard to read when you knew what to look for and Draco had watched her carefully in the month and a half that she had come back in to his life. "Granger, it will be okay. The Aurors haven't left my side since they were assigned." Draco was not terribly fond of having bodyguards around him all the time. For one, it implied that he needed someone else to fight his battles. Second, he rather enjoyed his privacy and two thugs following him around everywhere put a damper on things. It was an entire ordeal just so he could visit Hermione's flat without the Aurors looming over their shoulders. He knelt down and kissed her sweetly, vanishing all other thoughts from his mind except her.

His kisses still sent butterflies wild in Hermione's stomach, especially these ones, the ones where he was trying to convey more than he was saying through his lips. Hermione sighed softly when he broke the tender kiss. "We have no idea who got in or how they got in, how in the world can you be so cool about it?"

Draco smiled at her. "It's hard to be concerned about anything but you."

Hermione's heart twinged, he could be so damn charming. She used to wonder why the Slytherin girls swooned over him, but being on the receiving end on his charm, she now understood. "You should take this more seriously, Draco," she whispered softly.

Draco's smile fell. "Hermione, I am taking it seriously, but I'm not going to let whoever this is ruin this, ruin us. I have wanted this for too long, so when I'm with you, I choose to be with you, not looking over my shoulder." He slowly stood, pulling her up with him.

Hermione blushed, what was she supposed to say that? So she decided to kiss him instead. "So I do have bad news, I may have forgotten to prepare something for dinner." She laughed, trying to take his advice and be with him.

Draco chuckled. "Nibsy," he called. Instantly the small elf appeared at his side.

"Yes, Master Draco?" Nibsy asked cheerfully.

"Would you please prepare some dinner for us? Whatever you're making for mother will do fine." Draco looked at Nibsy.

"Of course, sir! Dinner shall be ready shortly." Nibsy chirped. "And I shall bring some here for Master and Miss."

Draco nodded at Nibsy. "Thank you, Nibsy." The elf disappeared, and he looked at Hermione again. "Disaster averted."

Hermione felt bad that once again she was eating his food. She had invited him to her flat because she mostly went the the manor to spend time with him. She was beginning to worry that she was taking advantage of his hospitality. On the other hand, she also knew that the House Elves always made an abundance of food, more than enough to feed three people. "Thank you, again. I promise someday I'll actually cook for you." She walked in to the kitchen grabbed some dishes and started setting the table for dinner.

Draco followed her into the kitchen and impossibly small breakfast nook. "Can you actually cook?"

Hermione sent a mocking glare at him. "It's not hard. It's basically potions but with food, and if you remember correctly, I beat you in potions," she teased.

"Ah, yes, but good cooking involves instincts and understanding of flavors." He leaned against the cobalt counters.

Hermione smiled. "Are you implying I'm not a good cook?"

"No, merely asking." He grinned.

"Guess you'll just have to figure that out on your own," Hermione shrugged, walking back towards him, tapping his hip that was blocking her silverware drawer.

Draco moved behind Hermione to pin her to the counter with his body, her back arched against his stomach as his hands gripped the counters on either side of her. "I don't much care if you're a good cook, as long as you're good in bed," he murmured in to crook of her neck, "which I already know you are."

Shivers ran up and down Hermione's spine, he could turn her on like a switch, the feeling of his voice vibrating into her neck made her knees wobble with want. "Is that so?" she hummed softly, trying not to lose complete control.

Draco pulled her hair aside and started delicately kissing her neck up to her jawline. "Well, you see, after rigorous testing, the results have been incredibly encouraging," he whispered softly into her ear.

Hermione chuckled, but the pop of the house elf snapped her back to reality. Hermione felt Draco shift in frustration at the bad timing. She laughed to herself, she was sure they would get to that eventually tonight, but right now she really needed to eat.

Draco moved from behind her and Nibsy skipped in to the room floating what looked like a roast, with a few side dishes behind him. The food flew to the table and Nibsy asked if there was more that Draco needed but Draco thanked him and dismissed him for the night.

The rest of the night went exactly how Hermione expected it to. They had an intriguing conversation over dinner, debating the difference and similarities of cooking and potions, then that morphed into the the fundamentals of potions and what techniques, so on and so forth. That was the thing about Draco, Hermione thought to herself, as they basked in the afterglow of the sex that had followed dinner, Draco could keep up with her. Draco may not have beaten her in scores at Hogwarts, but he was in no way less intelligent than her. He could hold his own in their debates, he had even won some of them against her. Hermione was extremely academically smart, she was very good at absorbing information and extrapolating on that knowledge she had, Draco was a different kind of smart, though. While he was good at understanding and maintaining information, he was linguistically adept and far superior at interpersonal intelligence. He could read Hermione like a book, then he would use what he gathered from her to challenge her in new way, force her to see things from a different perspective. She shifted in her bed to look up at him, and his stone eyes met hers and she couldn't help but smile at his chiseled features. She wondered if she could really see a future with him. That being said, she wasn't even sure where they stood right now.

Draco kissed her forehead, clearly she was lost in thought again, there was something so beautiful about watching her think. While Draco had been with many women, never did he find any of them so intriguing. He loved to watch her brain turn over, consider, and analyze everything. He wondered what it was like to be in that buzzing brain. "What are you thinking about?"

She pursed her lips at him, then leaned up on to her elbows, drawing soft circles on to his chest. "Where do _we_ stand?" she bit her lip, watching her fingers tracing his skin.

Draco smirked. "Well, I just assumed we were exclusive." He smiled when her head snapped up, her cinnamon eyes meeting his.

"Oh, so you're not..." She trailed off.

"I'm not, and I rather hope you're not either," Draco said, matter of factly.

Hermione laughed. "No, I'm not, I haven't dated in long time. What does exclusive include?" she delicately asked.

"Well, I would think it means we're not seeing other people, with the intentions to see where this goes." Draco informed her.

"So dating?" Hermione smiled

He chuckled. "If you'd like to refer to it like that, I just would prefer to keep it out of the public eye for now."

Hermione bristled, "Why would that be?"

That was not the reaction Draco expected, he assumed she would want to keep it quiet too, he stroked her back trying to reassure her. "Not because of your blood, I swear. I just like to keep these things quiet until they develop into more, especially with you being part of the golden trio and I a supposed ex-death eater, the media would have field day with it. Our face would be everywhere and people would planning our wedding before you know it. So to give us some breathing room it would be best if were didn't go public just yet."

Hermione gaped at him. Since Ron, she hadn't been in a serious enough relationship that came even close to this conversation. Draco was right however, Hermione and Ron were constantly bombarded by journalist and paparazzi always wanting the exclusive details of their relationship. "Oh. Well, that makes sense."

"Jeez Granger, when are you going to trust me?" Draco teased, though it pained him that she jumped straight that conclusion. He knew, though, that she still thought he held prejudices, and he would still have to work twice as hard to prove to her didn't.

Hermione kissed his chest. "Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that it was because of my blood, old habits."

Draco tried to shrug it off as her kisses trailed down his abdomen. It was several hours later, after they had sated themselves, Draco woke up to a piercing noise. His heart raced as the sound sent him into a fit of panic. It sounded remarkably like the screams that would carry through the manor of the poor souls being tortured in the dungeon. Draco groped for his wand, his hands shaking in fear that he would be next. He cast lumos to find a groggy Hermione shielding her eyes from the light spilling from his wand, she was fumbling for something on her table side.

"It's the coin." She sat up and with the coin between fingers, as she silenced the alarm on it. "I have to go." She kicked her feet over the side, pulling on clothes. "You should get your detail and go back to the Manor." She turned to look at him, but he didn't look okay. His chest was heaving and he had a death grip on his wand and the sheets. Hermione knew this was a panic attack and her heart was torn. She wanted to hold him and bring him back down, but she had to leave immediately, someone may be in serious danger. "Nibsy!" She called. The elf appeared a moment later, looking sleepy himself, "Draco is having a panic attack. Take him to the Manor and bring him down. I have to go." She didn't have time for pleasantries, she would have to apologize later, and with that she clicked the coin into a portkey and was gone.

The next moment she was standing in Diagon Alley, the cold night air assaulting her senses. She looked around and found Ron standing next to one of the side alleys. "Ron!" she called, trotting over to him.

Ron looked over his shoulder a solemn look across his face. "Mione, wait." He turned to block her view.

Hermione's brows knitted together, "What's wrong?" Her voice trailed off. Over his shoulder, it looked like deep red paint had been spilled on the ground. Hermione's heart stopped, "Who is it?" he asked weakly, knowing that Ron wouldn't stop her from looking unless it was a dead body.

"Hestia Carrow," Ron's voice grim. "They slit her throat. She was dead when we got here."

Hermione's stomach was starting to feel queasy. She was supposed to be helping werewolves and she was failing miserably. Hestia was not one of her wards, but the responsibility still fell on her shoulders since she was in charge of the program. "Do we know who did it yet?"

"They're looking for evidence now," Ron looked at her. "We got here only a few minutes before you did. There was one more thing you should know." Ron grimaced. "We found her coin on her forehead."

Hermione clasped her hand to her mouth in shock. "The killer knew about the coin?"

"It could be that she had it and used it, and the killer figured out what it was. Or, worst case, the killer knew about it and used it and is now taunting us." Ron sighed. "Either way, they know about it now."

Hermione's head started to spin with scenarios, which really didn't help with the onset nausea. "So wait, why bring me here? Hestia wasn't even my case." She looked around for Smith, she saw the chestnut hair, standing next to another Auror.

Ron looked at her with a sorrowful expression. "They left a message. We're not sure what it means and Smith said we should call you." Ron pointed to the wall over his left shoulder, and he stepped to the side.

Laying on the ground a pool of dark crimson was Hestia's body, her skin was an icy blue except for the massive gash across her neck. For the first time, Hermione noticed the dark words written on the wall _Purity above all, traitors will fall._


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Hermione ran her hands through her unleashed mane, as she looked over the papers and photos were strewn long conference table. She could feel her muscles knotting in her shoulders from the stress. So far, all they had was questions. "Do we actually have anything? Any evidence, any indications?" She didn't mean to sound so irritated, but she couldn't help it.

Harry rolled his head, his hands still firmly on his hip as he stood in front of the chalkboard. "Well, both victims have been werewolves, first of all. McMillian's wife says their attacker wore a mask but she could tell it was a man, and around six feet tall. The victims were killed in the same fashion, though Hestia's cut was much deeper and more jagged. Ernie was home sleeping when the killer broke in. He murdered the children first, same MO, one fluid slash to the throat, they were dead before they even woke up. Then he went the master room dragged Ernie out of bed, which woke his wife, and slit Ernie's throat in front of the wife telling her that it was because his blood was tainted. So the message on the wall tracks as far at the purity part." Harry moved around the the room towards Hermione and leaned over her shoulder, shifting some of the papers, stress heavy on his features. "As for Hestia, we think the attacker came up behind her and slit her throat." Harry sighed as he pointed at one of the photo's of Hestia. "Then he laid her down, used her blood to write the message and placed the coin."

"What worries me is the 'traitors will fall'. They must be referring to the traitors to Voldermort, which means we're dealing with Death Eaters. But werewolves were on Voldemort's side, why would Death Eaters now decide that werewolves were impure?" Hermione wondered, looking down at the photo in front of her.

"Voldemort hated werewolves, but they were a means to an end. He thought they were tainted, but used them to terrorize."

The new voice made Hermione jump. She turned to find Draco standing in the doorway. "What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised he was there.

"Well," Draco stepped into the room closing the door behind him, "to everyone else, I'm here to discuss a fundraiser, or at least that's what I told Melody. Really, though, I just needed to see you. You left so quickly last night and I was concerned when you weren't home this morning." Draco eyed how close Potter was to Hermione, the thought of them sleeping together lingered in the back of his mind. He suppressed the jealous dragon within him and reminded himself that they had always been very close friends.

Hermione sighed, she had really meant to send him an owl apologizing for leaving so quickly and then asking if he was okay after his attack last night. "I'm sorry. I just.."

"Had work, I figured. Hence the reason I came to the Ministry." Draco approached Hermione. "I just needed to know you were okay." Draco spun a curl around his pointer finger, then eyed Potter over Hermione's shoulder, he looked back to Hermione. "I also figured you had not eaten since dinner last night, so I came to take you to lunch."

Hermione had totally forgotten about eating, though looking at gruesome crime scene photos didn't help either. Her stomach started to rumble at the thought of food. Hermione bit her lip and looked over her shoulder to Harry, who was smiling softly. "Go, it'll be here when you come back." He smiled. "Besides, Gin packed her famous leftover roast for lunch."

Draco's eyes narrowed at Potter. Hermione was a grown woman, Draco wasn't sure why she seemingly needed Potter's permission to go to lunch. However, when Hermione turned back to him and picked up her coat, he decided that it was a conversation for a different time. Right now he wanted to enjoy lunch with Hermione. He held open the door to the conference room and followed her out, ignoring Potter as he left.

Hermione paused, letting Draco walk at her side. "I thought we were keeping it quiet?" her voice hushed so that Draco could only hear her.

Draco slipped his hands in his pockets, even though they itched to hold hers. "We are. However, people do have meetings over lunch, so as long as we actually talk about a fundraiser, I think we'll maintain a sufficient cover," Draco explained quietly.

Hermione nodded slowly. She wasn't sure what fundraiser he had in mind, she was not aware of anything in the near future. They came to the lift and waited patiently, in painstaking silence, as the dial slowly counted off floors and, much to Hermione's relief, it was empty. She nodded a thank you as Draco motioned her on to the lift. He stepped on after her and chose the button for the Atrium and the door slowly slid closed. Then, as if Draco had read her mind, he spun around and slammed her in to the elevator wall, kissing her with a fiery passion, his body pressed hard into hers as if he was trying to adsorb her into him. His kisses left hot impressions on her lips, and his hands moved up her body and groped at her chest. She moaned delicately into his ear, he was so good turning her on. Her brain was whispering that this wildly inappropriate at work, but her body ignored it, indulging in the sweet distraction from the case.

Draco was satiating himself in Hermione's lips, seeing her and Potter so close drove the jealous little boy inside him slightly insane. He needed to reaffirm to himself that she wanted him. After all, Potter was _Potter,_ the literal opposite of himself and, if Draco was being honest with himself, _everything that Hermione's actually deserved_. Draco leaned into Hermione harder when the thought sneaked its way through his mind, as if pushing further into her would shove the whisper of his mind. It was then that the ding that Draco had been dreading interrupted their snog. Draco growled in frustration and pressed away from her, thankful she was not the type of woman to wear lipstick. He straightened his shirt and gave her a sly smile, as the doors slid open and a tall dark haired man stepped on the lift, he nodded at Hermione and gave Draco a curious look. The three of them rode down in the lift in awkward silence until the door slid open into the Atrium and all three exited the lift.

Hermione and Draco walked to the floo system, Hermione stood in line at the nearest one, and Draco followed pursuit. She leaned back and mumbled over her shoulder, "where are we going?"

Draco chuckled at how ridiculous she was acting. "Leaky Cauldron, there's a sushi place I want to try." He leaned forward. "And relax, you're making more of an issue of it by trying to be sneaky."

Hermione shot him a dirty look over her shoulder and stepped up to the floo, called out the Leaky Cauldron and in a moment she stepped out into the dark musky looking bar. Draco stepped out of the floo next to her. The bar was fairly busy, it was a Monday and lunch time. The Cauldron was popular for the working crowd. Draco nodded at the bartender, who was looking at the pair of them suspiciously and walked to the door to the streets of London as if nothing was askew. Hermione quickly followed him, astounded at how good he was acting nonchalant. She followed him out to the heart of London. They walked a few blocks, not saying much to each other. Then, to Hermione's total surprise, Draco took her hand into his and kissed her knuckles. "How can you do that?" Hermione wondered as his gaze turned to her.

"Do what?" Draco looked at her as if she asked him to grow wings and fly.

"Act like there's nothing between us, and then just turn back on this side of you," she asked, shaking his hand in hers.

"Oh." He smiled softly at her. "Well, lets just say when you grow up around masks, you learn how to wear them." He ran his free hand through his hair.

"How do I know you're not just wearing another mask around me then?" The fear that everything was a ruse started to settle on her heart again. She was so invested in him now, to have him faking it all of this would hurt. A lot.

Draco sensed her distress and took his hand from hers and pulled her into him, his arm now wrapping around her. He pressed a kiss into the top of Hermione's head. "You're the only person I've let see my face, Hermione," he mumbled into her wild curls.

Hermione looked up at him in shock. "Where did this Draco come from?" she asked without actually intending too.

Draco scoffed. "Let's just say a lion chased it out of me." Draco opened as door to a small, nondescript restaurant with a neon sushi sign, he then waited to for Hermione to go in. Once inside, a tiny little Asian girl greeted them, and then sat them down at the track that wound its way around the restaurant, little plates with covers drifted lazily by on the track.

Hermione looked at Draco perplexed. "What do we do?"

It was now Draco's turn to look shocked. "You've never been to a sushi track?"

Hermione shook her head. She had not really had sushi, both Ron and Harry had found something fundamentally wrong with eating raw fish.

Draco laughed. "Well, it's simple, really. You just pick the plates off the track that you want eat and then eat it."

Hermione looked at the little conveyor belt carrying various pieces of sushi around the bar. "How do you know it's fresh?"

Draco shrugged. "You hope the chef is good at his job" Draco picked a spicy tuna off the track and uncovered it and started to eat.

Hermione pursed her lips. "How do you know what's what?"

Draco gave her grin. "I think that's rather part of the fun of it, you get to try new things and the surprise is the best part."

Hermione furrowed her brows. She was not fond of the idea of not knowing exactly what was going in to her mouth. "What if I don't like it?"

Draco laughed. "Then don't eat it." He grabbed another roll off the track, this one looked like a deep fried roll with a spicy Japanese mayo. "Besides, if the chef is any good you won't have that issue, and since Blaise was the one who recommended this place and he has a flat in Tokyo, I think he'd know where the good sushi is."

Hermione took a deep breath, watched the sushi, one by one, pass her by. She finally got up the guts to grab a random dish and uncovered it. The roll was wrapped in salmon, which was a good sign, she liked salmon, and had what looked like crab, cucumber, and cream cheese in the center. She picked up her chopsticks and took a bite, and damn it if Draco wasn't right this was the best sushi she ever had, not that her experience was extensive, but it was really good. She smiled at him mouth still full of fish and nodded.

Draco grinned. They spent the next hour picking out plates, trying each other's food and daring one another to eat crazier looking rolls. All of it had been amazing. Draco leaned back smiling, sucking on a piece of pickled ginger, too full to have anymore. He looked at Hermione, who was also had a contented smile. "Well?"

She sighed heavily. "It was amazing. I can't remember when I enjoyed my lunch hour so much." Her smile fell again when she thought about how she had to now go back to work and talk about gruesome murders.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked, concerned with how quickly her mood shifted.

"Just been a rough day, I guess, and it didn't help that it started last night," Hermione admitted softly.

Draco grimaced. "What happened?"

"There was a murder last night, Hestia Carrow." Hermione sighed. "And it was..." She trailed off. Was there a right word for last night? It was not the first person she'd seen dead, but something about the poor girl and her ghostly skin horrified Hermione. "Gruesome," she finished. Draco suddenly wrapped his arms around her, holding her firmly to his chest. She felt the dam that was keeping all the stress, guilt and remorse back suddenly break. His embrace had torn down her walls and emotions flooded her. Hermione sobbed into his chest and he just held her tighter. It was several minutes later that Hermione was able to gather herself enough for him to pay so they could leave.

As they strolled down the streets of London, Draco gripped Hermione's shoulder tightly, holding her firmly into him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," breaking the enduring silence.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I actually feel much better now." Hermione looked at Draco. "Are you okay? You knew Hestia."

Draco stopped and frowned, he should have been more upset but he was rather unaffected by the news. "She was a few years below me, I barely knew her."

Hermione looked down. "Oh," was all she could manage. Was she just overreacting then? But before she could give it more thought, Draco lifted her chin up to look at him and then kissed her sweetly.

"I hate to to cut this short, but if we go much further, we may be recognized," he consoled.

Hermione looked up and, sure enough, they were just a few blocks from the Cauldron. "Oh, well are you just going to leave at the Cauldron?"

"I think it would be best. I have some things to pick up in the alley anyways," Draco said.

Hermione nodded. "Okay. Well, thank you for lunch. I really did enjoy myself and I really needed to get away from work." Then it dawned on Hermione. "Wait, where's your detail?"

Draco let out an annoyed huff. "I insisted that they stay behind at the ministry. I really wanted to just spend time with you. They are quite bothersome, you know? Having them around all the time."

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed, frustrated. She had already had one murder on her hands. She couldn't handle it if she had Draco's too. "They are there to keep you safe!"

Draco rolled his eyes, which was exactly the wrong thing to do because Hermione turned a violent shade of fuchsia. "Hermione, I'll be fine, I swear. Believe it or not, I'm capable at defending myself."

Hermione's blood began to boil. "You don't think that Ernie or Hestia couldn't defend themselves? Whoever this is sneaks up on their victims, not giving them a chance."

Draco was becoming annoyed with her lack of confidence in him. "I dealt with Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself, I can handle whoever this is." Draco kept his voice as even as possible, doing everything in his power not to lose his temper with her.

"It's not about your ability, you knitwit. If you get murdered, then it's on me. I couldn't stop them. I will find them, but if they get to you and kill you first," her eyes pleading with him, "I couldn't handle that." Tears of frustration started falling down Hermione's cheeks. "Please, Draco, I don't want to lose you yet."

Draco recoiled, how could she think this is her fault? "Hermione, it's not your fault." Suddenly why she was so upset over Hestia clicked in to place in Draco's mind.

Hermione's lip quivered. She was fighting with every fragment of herself not to fall apart again. "It is, though, Draco, it's my project. We were supposed to protect her and we failed. It's on me." She angrily wiped away the frustrated tears. "And if they get to you, it will be on me too. So, please, for Merlin's sake, put aside your pride and let your detail do their job."

Draco pursed his lips and conceded. "Fine, but only because it will make you feel better, not because I need it." He crossed his arms.

Hermione couldn't help but giggle, it was like the eleven year old Draco was standing in front of her all over again. She smiled and kissed a very confused Draco on the lips. "Thank you."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

The doors to the dark room flung open, a booming sound echoing off the walls. "We've got a problem," a wizard in his mid thirties grunted as he made his way to his master who was sitting in the chair next to the small fireplace at the far end of the room.

The master sighed to himself, staring pensively at the small fire that gave off the only light in surrounding the darkness. "And what would that be?" he drawled his wand twisting mindlessly in fingers.

The other wizard slammed the Daily Prophet down on to the small end table beside his superior. "Looks like he's done and over stepped himself, killed the Carrow girl, he has."

Another heavy sighed escaped that masters lips, as he picked up the paper. Surely enough " _The Huntsman Strikes Again"_ was written in clear letters across the top. He ground his teeth, when he allowed the _"Huntsman"_ to join their ranks, he was under clear orders to keep a low profile. This was not the Master's idea of a low profile, "hand him over to the Aurors, he's far to much of a risk to us if he can't stay out of the newspapers."

The other wizard nodded firmly, "Sir, there's something else you should know," he paused "The tail we have on the Malfoy boy, well, he saw something interesting yesterday."

The masters interest was piqued, "and?"

The wizard handed his master a photo,"He saw the Granger girl kiss him," the wizard explained, "it seems the Malfoy boy is soiling himself, with the mudblood."

The master cruelly smiled this could play well into his hands, "Inform the others, and mail the photo to Skeeter." The other wizard nodded and turned on his heel and left his superior to the emptiness.

* * *

Hermione watched Draco as he meticulously unbuttoned his shirt and folded it. He then handed it to her and she laid it down on the stool next to the damp dungeon cell that he would be locked up in tonight. She sighed, they were no closer to finding the _The Huntsman,_ as the prophet so carelessly named it. She yelled at Skeeter for a solid hour about the indecency of nick naming a murderer. How Skeeter even got the information was something that she would have to figure out when the full moon wasn't days away. There had been many precautions that had been added since Draco was let out of his cell, and now the Auror's were concerned that he was not the only target. So Hermione had spent the last few days assigning Aurors to Werewolves that may be at risk, predominately, purebloods since that seemed to be the killer's preference.

"Hermione." Draco gripped the cell bars, halfway hanging out, waiting for Hermione to wake from her trance.

She snapped back to find Draco leaning out of the cell door, his muscles taught as they supported his weight, a cunning smirk on his lips, his steel eyes watching her. She smiled at his masculine beauty and the way it just came so natural to him. She couldn't help but trace his collarbone, up to his shoulder, then down to his cut biceps, admiring his muscular structure. "Damn it, Draco, it isn't fair how attractive you are. How can any sane women say no to this." She traced her fingers back up to his shoulder, then his neck and stopped on his jawline, her thumb running over his defined cheekbones.

Draco cockily grinned. "No sane woman has." He caught her hand just before it went to slap his shoulder. His grin fell slowly as he kissed the palm of her hand. "Really, Hermione, for your and my mother's sake, please, go somewhere else tonight," he pleaded with her again, this had been an ongoing disagreement for days now.

Hermione softened too. "Draco, I want to be here with you, I'm just as worried as you are." Her thumb ran over his lips.

Draco sighed with defeat, this was the issue with dating a woman with a brain: they had their own plans. He looked up at her with a sad look in his eye, "Please?" He felt like a dog begging for food.

Hermione chuckled at his pathetic look. "No, besides, Harry is here too. If anything goes wrong, he'll protect me. He always has." This wasn't untrue, Harry always did his best to keep her from harm, but he also knew she would protect him too. They always looked out for each other.

Draco's jaw clenched, he was not thrilled that Potter was in his house, and even less happy that Potter may have to keep him from hurting Hermione. This fight he had already conceded too however. Potter had been his detail for the last few days, apparently he had fixed the duty rotation to make sure he was here for the full moon. Speaking of the devil, Draco heard footsteps approaching, his eye flicked to see jet black hair and green eyes.

Hermione followed Draco eyes and saw Harry approaching, she huffed in frustration and dragged Draco's attention back to her. "We'll be fine, I promise," she pressed her lips to his, distracting him for Harry.

When Hermione pulled away Draco straightened himself, and shot Harry a contemptuous look, the full moon always brought out the worst of him.

Harry utterly ignored Malfoy's glare and looked at Hermione. "About five minutes until sunset."

Hermione nodded, the plan was that she would stay here throughout Draco's transformation, seeing as he needed to strip down and she had already seen him naked plenty of times, and then, after he was fully transformed, she would send a patronus to Harry who would come down to stand watch with her. She watched as Harry retreated up the steps, and turned back to Draco. "Are you okay?"

"Just lock me up." Draco stepped back into the cell, and closed the door behind him, he then stripped down completely, and handed his clothes and wand to Hermione. She took them from him and placed them on the stool with his shirt and then began muttering spells on the cell door and bars.

Hermione finished the last two protection charms, and looked at Draco, unable to touch him now. "I'm going to put up a concealment charm as well, that way you aren't bothered by Harry and I. We'll still be able to see you, but you won't see or hear us."

Draco grimaced, but nodded, something about being watched like that made him widely uncomfortable, but before he could say anything else Hermione disappeared. He solemnly raised his hand to where Hermione's face had been but he could feel the magic pushing him back.

Hermione watched as Draco facade faded. She wondered what he was like when he was truly alone. She knew that he wore a variety of masks to keep the world at bay, it broke her heart that he never felt like he could just be him. Did he wear a mask for her? Was he telling her the truth when he said he didn't wear a mask for her? Was that part of the mask? She watched as Draco walked to the center of the room and sat down crossed legged on the ground. He rolled his head slowly, let his hand hang over his knees. If Hermione wasn't mistaken it looked like he was about to meditate. _I wonder if that helps._ She observed as Draco took long deep breaths as if he was trying to put himself in a trance, this was utterly fascinating to her.

And then something happened. It looked as if Draco had tried to pop his neck, then he lurched forward and arched his back. His body started to contort and stretch as he let out painful screams that turned slowly in to howls. A white fur grew over his body, and sharp teeth shoved through his gums as his handsome face elongated in to a wolfish muzzle. Hermione watched in half fascination and half horror, it was not easy watching someone transform like this, much less someone you cared about. It was mesmerizing, though, like watching a train crash, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. The wolf let out a long howl, it was fully transformed and started to pace around the small cell, clearly agitated.

Hermione stepped closer to the cell, this was the second time she seen Draco like this, the first time she had been terrified that he was going to attack her at any moment, but now with spells and bars protecting her, she could really look at him. He was powerful, there was no doubt about that, but there was still an unnerving grace to the animals movement, and while werewolves were not pretty animals by nature Draco's was beautiful in a contorted sort of way. The Wolf stopped and looked directly at her, and Hermione felt her blood cold, had she messed up one the charms? Could he see her? The wolf stalked towards her and sniffed the air, a low rumble growing in its throat. She let out a breath, he could smell her, of course, the concealment charms didn't conceal smell, just sight and sound. The wolf moved closer yet, it eyes drilling in to Hermione's torso, yet she didn't move she stood inches from the bar watching as the animal approached her. The wolf stopped just in front of her, took a long sniff and held its breath for a long moment, letting it out slowly. If the charms weren't there Hermione could have reached out and touched the beasts muzzle it was that close, but her arms stayed crossed in front of her as she loomed over the wolf unbeknownst.

"Hermione, you were supposed to send a patronus." Harry skipped down the dungeon steps towards her, the torches giving his raven hair an orange glow.

"I know, I was just about to." Hermione eyes following him as he came closer.

Harry looked into the cell to find the wolf sniffing the air just in front of Hermione, almost in a trance like state. "Uh maybe you should..." Harry lost his sentence as the wolf broke the gaze suddenly and luggened towards him. Harry instinctively lept backwards, pulling Hermione with him. They crashed into the dungeon floor behind him, Hermione landing on top of him. "Merlin's beard!" Harry panted. "Are you sure he can't see us?" The wolf began to pace angrily.

"Yes, but he can smell us." Hermione's crawled off Harry, rubbing her knees where they skidded over the damp stone floor. She then offered Harry a hand to stand up. "And apparently, he doesn't like you."

"Ha, feeling's mutual," Harry scoffed.

Hermione shook her head and turned to see the wolf had begun to pace. she watched him for the rest of the night, having an in-depth conversation with Harry about what else could be done, where the case was, and the possibilities of that. Other than the riveting conversation, nothing happened that evening, she got no calls from the other Aurors and, just before dawn broke, Harry left her again so Draco could transform back. She watched as the wolf slowly, less painfully, turn back into a man. When he was fully human again she lifted the charms, grabbed his things, and knelt on the floor next to his limp body. She lightly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Draco," she whispered softly. Draco's stone eyes slowly opened.

"I'm glad to see I didn't tear you to shreds." He grunted as he slowly rose to a sitting position, his body aching everywhere.

A tender smile pulled at her lips. "Gave Harry quite a scare," she chuckled.

"Good, he needs a humility check." Draco sat up and let her wrap him a wool blanket.

Hermione huffed in annoyance, "You two, honestly, if you'd just give each other a chance." Draco just gave her a skeptical look. She shook her head as she poured him a glass of water brought down before Harry left. "By the way, nothing happened, Harry and I just talked all night."

Draco accepted the glass and took a small sip. The water felt like heaven in his mouth. "Thank Salazar." He really was relieved.

"Are you ready to dress and head up for breakfast?"

Draco nodded and, with some assistance, stood up and slowly started to get dressed. He still felt loads better than he did last time, but transformation hurt no matter what happened. Draco followed Hermione slowly up the steps out of the dungeon. When he reached the landing to the main floor he internally grumbled when he saw Potter standing there waiting for them.

"Morning," Harry said with a brisque tone.

It was clear to Draco that Potter was making a begrudging effort to be civil for Hermione's sake. "Morning," Draco returned, matching his tone.

Harry turned to Hermione. "I just spoke to Ron, he said everything was quiet on their end too." Harry eyed Malfoy. "So we have nothing still."

Hermione sighed, it was both a blessing and a curse that nothing had happened last night. "Okay, well you head home. I'm sure Gin is anxious to see you."

"Can't, my relief's not here yet." Harry shoved his hands in his pockets. "Not supposed to arrive until 8."

Draco groaned internally, Hermione was rubbing off on him. "Then come have some breakfast, I'm sure you're famished," Draco painfully ground out, in the sake of civility.

Harry shifted uncomfortably and ran his hand through his hair. "Uh, yeah sure. Thanks."

Draco nodded and escorted them to the main breakfast dining room, where his mother sat quietly sipping her morning tea looking over the prophet. "Good morning, mother," Draco greeted her. "Hermione and Potter will be joining us for breakfast this morning."

Narcissa lowered her newspaper and looked at the three of them. "Good morning." She nodded. "How kind of you to join us." She smiled sweetly standing up from her chair. "Please, have a seat." She gestured at the empty chairs situated around the table.

"Good morning, Narcissa." Hermione nodded, while she had eaten breakfast at the Malfoys several times over the last few weeks, she usually ate in Draco's bedroom. She wasn't entirely sure if Draco had told his mother that they were seeing each other, and if she did know she was not giving off any indications.

"Thanks," Harry nodded again and sat down next Hermione while Malfoy took the head of the table.

Once everyone was seated, two house elves ushered in more tea cups and tea for the new arrivals. "Breakfast will done shortly." Nibsy bowed deeply before he exited the room.

An awkward silence hung in the air for a long moment, before Narcissa broke it. "So am I to assume everything went smoothly last night?" She asked, eyeing her son in particular.

Draco bobbed his head. "As far as I know yes, it was normal on my part."

"And nothing odd on ours." Hermione added.

"Splendid. Draco, there is an article in this mornings prophet that I thought may be of interest to you." Narcissa handed her son the newspaper with a coy smirk.

Draco gave his mother piercing look, and took the Prophet from her.

"Won't even have to turn the page since it made headline this morning." Narcissa smirk turned into a knowing smile as she slowly sipped her tea.

There on the front page in bold scrawling letters, _War Hero and Reformed Death Eater Madly in Love?!_ A picture of him and Hermione kissing in the downtown streets of London encapsulated in a heart just below the title with a small smug picture Skeeter beaming, next to her name. Draco let out an angry growl. "Fuck, just what we needed." He tossed the newspaper to Hermione who's face became horror struck as he eye fell on the text.

"No," she whined. "We were being careful!"

"Apparently not careful enough." Harry fought back a chuckle as he took a sip of his tea.

Draco shot him a threatening look "I would think you would be more concerned about this." He growled. "I very much put a target on Hermione's back."

"Whom, may I remind you, is a very capable witch that fought her way through a war," Harry reminded Malfoy his voice terse.

"I fought in the same bloody war, Potter, and yet you insist on me having an Auror stalk me 24/7," Draco bit back.

"Well, you see, I actually know she can dual, the best I ever saw you do is run the other direction," Harry fiercely retorted.

Draco was about to respond in kind just as Hermione cut them both off. "Boys!" She yelled. "Enough, you're not twelve any more." She looked at Draco. "You have had an actual threat and someone reportedly stalk you, that is why you have a detail." She spun around to glare at Harry. "And just because you haven't seen him fight does not mean he isn't capable, he was just a child during the battle, just like we were."

Potter was about respond, but something about Hermione's face must have shut him up. Draco snickered and then found himself on the receiving end of the threatening glower form Hermione.

Narcissa chuckled as the three kids shot each other dirty looks, Draco then turned to her sending her a warning glare. Narcissa merely smiled and raised her glass, the elves then ushered in to the room with plates full of food. "Splendid timing," Narcissa remarked, "please everyone eat."

The rest of the meal was spent in relative silence. Hermione sighed, maybe there was no hope, the two men at the table couldn't even sit down at a meal without nearly breaking into a fight. After they finished eating Hermione walked with Harry to the floo system, leaving Draco to sleep for the rest of the day.

"So," Harry started, "have you thought about how you're going to tell Ron?"

Hermione's heart sank, Ron was already not going to take the news of her and Draco well. She had planned on telling him when she and Draco were a little more sure where this was going. Now he was bound to find out and he was going to be livid she didn't tell him first. "I hadn't thought about it honestly. I wanted to wait a little longer, but Molly gets the Prophet and he's bound hear." She groaned. They stopped in front of the floo.

"Well, then I would expect you'll hear from him today." Harry gave her a pitying look.

"Do you think it's going to be bad?" Hermione worried.

Harry softly chuckled. "I don't think it's going to be good, but Ron has come a long way since Hogwarts." Harry gave her a hug. "It's not going to be as bad as it would have been."

Hermione relaxed into Harry's arms. "I hope you're right, because I'd rather not have to choose between them."

Harry patted her on the back. "I don't think it will be that bad, you might get the cold shoulder for not telling him first, but he's grown up." Harry let go of her and, as the floo roared his replacement stepped through.

"Oh, uh, morning." Much to Hermione's surprise, Harry's replacement looked barely old enough to perform magic outside of Hogwarts. "Is there anything to report, Mr. Potter?"

Hermione's couldn't help but chuckle at young man's formality, but Harry ignored her. "No, all was quiet." Harry then looked at Hermione again. "Good luck with Ron." He smiled. "But I'm going to go now, I can hear my pillow calling me from here." And, with a whoosh, he was gone.

Hermione sighed. She dreaded the thought of having the discussion with Ron, and doing it when she had no sleep sounded like a recipe for disaster. She massaged the bridge of her nose, she could feel the headache coming on.

"Would you rather just stay here with me?" Draco voice asked from behind her.

Hermione sighed, Draco's bed was not technically any closer than hers since his room was on the opposite wing of the house, but she liked sleeping next to him. She turned to look at him, realizing then that the young Auror was still standing awkwardly in the room. "I would, but I have to get home to Crooks, he still needs his breakfast."

"I'll send an elf." Draco sauntered over to her, completely ignoring the other person in the room, as he wrapped his arms around her. "It'll keep Weasley from barging in while you try to get some sleep."

Hermione rolled her head back. "As tempting as that is, running from Ron will on make it worse."

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "He'll get over it. Come on, Hermione, just sleep. I promise we're both knackered."

Hermione considered him for a long time. "No, I really should go home," she decided, "but we can do dinner or something tomorrow," she promised.

Draco peaked any eyebrow. "Something else sounds good to me," he insinuated.

Hermione giggled like a teenager, normally she'd have a clever retort, but right now her brain was exhausted. "Tomorrow." She stood on her toes and kissed him lightly. Draco released her from his grasp and she walked to the floo and went home, collapsing on her bed from her long night.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"'Mione! Where are you?! What the hell is this?!"

"Ron, she and Harry have been working all night, for Merlin's sake! You can throw your fit when she's had at least enough sleep to think!"

"No, Ginny, she kept this from me! She told you _and_ Harry but not _me_?!" Hermione could hear the fury in Ron's voice. She groaned into her pillow and checked her clock. It was just before noon, so she had only been asleep three hours.

"Can you blame her, Ron?! You come storming in to her house like this and you wonder why she didn't tell you. Seriously, Ron, grow up! We're not teenagers anymore!" Ginny bellowed back at Ron. Clearly Ron went to consult Harry and found Ginny instead.

Hermione toyed with the idea of just letting Ginny handle Ron, she had far more experience than Hermione did. Guilt took Hermione over though, this was her issue with Ron not Ginny's. She let out an exasperated breath. _I_ s _hould have taken Draco's offer,_ she thought to herself woefully as she got out of bed. She left the confines of her room, finding Ginny and Ron still fighting in her living room. "It's okay, Gin, I can take it from here." She stifled a yawn.

"Hermione, you've been working all night, he can wait," Ginny admonished, pointedly glaring at Ron.

Hermione smiled softly, she truly cherished Ginny. "Gin, just go home, I'm sure James needs you. I'll be fine, really."

Ginny bit her lip, contemplating whether to leave. "Fine. Ron, keep it brief, she needs sleep," Ginny lectured as she roughly poked her brother in the chest.

Ron just rolled his eyes at his little sister and waited for her to leave before he spoke again. "Malfoy? _Really_? And why didn't you tell _me_?"

Hermione sighed. "If we're going to do this right now, I need tea." Hermione brushed by Ron, heading for the kitchen.

"'Mione, you're avoiding answering me," Ron growled.

"No, Ronald, I just have had three hours sleep in the last twenty-four hours. If you want to have this conversation, I need some caffeine." Hermione angrily slammed the kettle on the stove top, and pulled out the Earl Grey from the cupboard. She heard Ron huff behind her but she ignored it, as she patiently waited for the water to boil.

"Merlin's sake, Hermione, you're a witch, use your bloody magic." Ron flicked his wand at the kettle, which instantly brought the water to a boil.

Hermione took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from lashing out a Ron. One of the things about Ron that drove Hermione insane was that he had no concept of satisfaction of doing things by hand, but that was an old argument, and to bring it up now would be counterproductive. So instead, Hermione grabbed the kettle and poured the tea for herself and Ron, then sat down at the table. "Sit, Ron." Ron's jaw clenched, but he sat down anyways. Hermione took another deep breath. "I was going to tell you," she started, "but this thing with Draco," she watched as Ron bristled when she used his first name, "is still new. I'm not sure where it's going yet, and I wanted to know for sure before telling you."

Ron crossed his arms and scoffed. "What, you didn't think I could handle it?"

Hermione bit the inside of her cheek, her mouth pursing. "Well, forgive me, Ronald, you haven't had the best record with Draco. I didn't see the need to drag you through all this over nothing."

"So, it's nothing?" Ron mocked her.

Hermione swore that if she inhaled in more air, she might float away like a hot air balloon. "I told you, I don't know what it is yet."

"Hermione, he teased you, he insulted you, and threatened you!" Ron pressed. "You shouldn't even be thinking about what this is!"

Hermione huffed in frustration. "I don't need a recap on all the terrible thing he's ever said and done to me Ron! I was there!"

"Well, apparently a wrackspurt or something got into your brain and made you forget! Hermione, this is mental! He's a Death Eater, for Merlins sake!"

"No, Ron, he's not, he never took the mark, what we thought was the mark was his bite! Do you even read any of the memos sent to you at work!" Hermione yelled back, this argument was escalating quickly.

Ron locked his jaw for a moment. "It doesn't matter Hermione," his voice becoming a quiet rage. "I listened to your screams as that psycho carved those letters into your arm." He stood up and crossed the tiny kitchen. "I screamed my bloody lungs out calling to you. I _still_ hear your screams in my sleep. _He let_ that happen, _he_ stood by as she tortured you, he let you scream."

Hermione fought back tears, the entire memory always brought up raw emotions, and she knew that both Ron and Harry still had night terrors over it. She did too. The worst part about it was that he wasn't wrong, Draco did just stand there and watch. "Ron, he was terrified, he had his entire family bending to the Dark Lord's every whim, he lived in that house, with that thing."

"Oh, so that makes it okay then?" Ron recoiled. "He was scared to disappoint mommy and daddy and that why it's okay that he stood there?"

Hermione felt a rogue tear run down her cheek. "His father was abusive, Ron, beat both him and his mother, they were just as much prisoners as we were. The only difference was that he endured it for seventeen years."

Ron stepped back, he never handled crying women well. "Look, 'Mione, you know who he is, who he fought for. Why are you even toying with this?"

She could see that Ron was starting to calm down, Ron was a hot head for sure, but maturity enabled him to cool down much faster than when he was a kid. "I didn't, at first, I thought it was some cruel trick, but he's grown up just as much as we have. And unfortunately, the war was not as black and white as we thought it was as kids, our side was not the only side that was hurt by it. I mean, look at Pansy, we couldn't stand her at Hogwarts, and now we both work with her."

"That's different, we had to be nice to her, and vice-versa." Ron sighed. "Besides she's still a pain."

Hermione grimaced. "Yes but less so, and we've come to tolerate her. That's how it started with Draco. I decided to give him a chance and I've been so surprised." Hermione smirked more to herself than Ron. "I mean, I thought he was this terrible human being, but it just turned out that he was just put into a bad situation and made bad choices, which is human. If we held everyone accountable for their mistakes, I would have never forgiven you for dating Lavender." Hermione didn't like speaking ill of the dead but she had a point to get across.

Ron let go of a deep breath. "You know me 'Mione, I just care about you, and I really don't want to see you hurt."

Hermione nodded, she knew this was going to be the root of the issue, Ron still very much cared for her and she him. "I know, Ron, but if things do go badly, I have you, and Harry, and Ginny, and my parents, and the rest of your family. I will be okay, I have no shortage of people who care. I just need to give this a try." Hermione eyebrows knitted together seriously. "Draco is different, there's something there and I'm so intrigued. He's unlike anyone I've ever known," she paused "and I just have this gut feeling that..." she trailed off this time. She wasn't sure what this gut feeling was, but it was there, sitting in her stomach, pulling her towards Draco.

Ron watched her as she started to drown in her thoughts. "Hermione, please don't. He's dangerous" he pleaded as he tucked a stray crule behind her ear. "He doesn't deserve you."

Hermione smiled meekly, "he doesn't think so either, but Ron, I have too." She stopped, "I want too, and he can't hurt me anymore then I already have been."

Ron gritted his teeth, "I'm not going to be friends with him, and I'm not going to be happy about any of this."

Hermione frowned slightly, "I'm not asking you too, I'm asking you you let me figure him out. I know you're concerned, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, we didn't think the prophet would catch on so quickly."

Ron grimaced. "Well, you know that Skeeter woman," his voice annoyed at the thought of her.

"I do," Hermione nodded in agreement. "Either way, I'm sorry."

Ron sighed. "Me too, I really should have let you sleep.

Hermione smirked. "Well yes that would have been nice, but I understand."

Ron bobbed his head. "Well, I leave you to get back to sleep then," he said slowly standing. "I'll see you soon?" His voice hesitant as he mussed up his hair.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, Ron, you'll see me soon and we're okay," she assured him again.

"Okay, good," Ron gave her a long reassuring hug, before they walked back the living room and he stepped in to the floo. "See ya later, 'Mione," he bid her goodbye and, with a flash of green, he was gone and Hermione went back to bed.

* * *

The next morning Hermione was back at work. There was a soft knock on her door and she knew it was Melody. "Come in," Hermione's voice rang.

Melody poked in her head, her long hair falling over her shoulder. "Miss Granger, I just heard from one of my friends in the Auror Department that there's been a break in the case."

Hermione snapped her head up from her paperwork. "What?! And no one came to tell me?"

Melody bit her lip. "Uh...no. I just found out from through grape vine and assumed you'd like to know."

Hermione got up to her feet clamoring to grab a few files. "Thank you, Melody."

"Of course! Now hurry, because from what I heard, Mr. Potter is heading out soon." Melody held open the door for Hermione to rush out.

When Hermione rushed out of the office and into the hallway she realized the lift door were starting to close. "No, wait! Hold the door!" she yelled down the hallway, startling a man standing just inside the lift. He held the door open as Hermione dashed into the already crowded lift. "Level two, please," she panted as she caught her breath from the sprint form her office. The lift stopped at every floor between hers and Harry's, and her frustration grew with each floor. Finally the cool voice called out level two and the doors slide open and Hermione leapt out of the lift, sprinting towards Harry's office again.

"Miss Granger!" Harry's secretary called out as Hermione burst through Harry's office door, only to find it empty. Hermione spun around. "He's in the conference room."

Hermione huffed in frustration. "Of course he is. Also next time, please inform my office when cases that involves us get new leads." Hermione did not give the woman time to respond before she was racing towards the conference room. She pulled open the door to find Harry pulling on his Auror gear. "There's been a break in the case?"

Harry looked up at her, startled to find her in front of him. " Yeah, one of the bartenders from the bar that Hestia was at came forward this morning and, with some legilimency, we pulled the identity of a man who happened to be a death Eater, and, apparently, from some of our underground contacts, very anti-werewolf. We weren't sure it was anything until the muggle investigators pulled a bloody fingerprint off a window in a alley and were running it against their systems, turns out he's killed muggles too and been on their radar too. So we know he was there, has motive, killed before, and at one point had Hestia's blood on his hands."

Hermione picked up some of the spare gear on the table and started putting it on herself, "And we know where he is then?"

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Hermione, I know you're just as invested in this investigation, but you can't come."

Hermione gave Harry a searing look. "You know I can defend myself."

"It's not that, Hermione. We're taking in a special tactics team. If you come, you'll be in the way because you're not trained in tactical. You'll be a liability and they don't need that, they need to focus," Harry's voice stern.

Hermione chewed on her lip. She really wanted to see this to the end, but she also did not want to mess it up. If the guy got loose it could be Draco he was after next. "I want to interrogate," she compromised.

"Hermione, I have to go, we'll negotiate when I get back." Harry put on the last bit of his gear and kissed her on the forehead. "And I'll be safe, I promise." He chuckled as he jogged out the door to catch up with the tactical team.

Hermione followed him out of the room, watching as he directed the team in to departing groups and going over the plan again. She crossed her arms and leaned against the door. Harry was no longer the boy she knew at Hogwarts, he had always been a good leader, but he used to do it with hesitation back then, now he was sure of himself. He was proud, strong, and, most of all, humble, but what she came to realize over time was that this was always Harry, he just needed to come in to his own. Here he was, a sure confident man who had bore all the world's troubles on his shoulders and defeated them. Harry had done a lot of growing since Hogwarts, and Hermione was extraordinarily proud to call him her friend, she was proud of who he'd be come. Harry turned around again to give her a farewell smile and wave before he and the other Aurors apparated away, now there was nothing to do but wait.

* * *

A few hours slipped by with no word from the tactical team and Hermione was just starting to worry when she heard pops from the conference room where she had temporarily set up shop to work while waiting to hear from Harry. Hermione rushed out of the conference room again to find a group of Aurors congratulating each other, with Harry standing among them. Hermione rushed forward and Harry caught her in his emeralds. "We got him," he smiled at her.

Hermione let out a laugh of triumph and she flung her arms around Harry. "When can we interrogate him?" she asked over his shoulder.

"Well, he pretty much gave a full confession once we snagged him, but the interrogators are working on him now. Seems he's been behind almost every attack against werewolves." Harry let go of her. "I know you wanted to interrogate, but there's protocol in place."

Hermione sighed, she had looked in to the protocol while they were gone and quickly realized, because she was merely a liaison, she had no say in the actual interrogation. "I figured. I'm glad we got him. Draco will be glad to be rid of his guard," she chuckled.

Harry smiled. "Yeah, my guys will be glad to be off Malfoy duty too, apparently he can be a real pain."

* * *

Hermione let out a deep breath as she stepped out of the fireplace into her flat. With the murderer caught, there was a mountain of work on her side: she had to type up a letter that would go out to the all the werewolves informing them of the good news but still warning them to stay ever diligent in personal security, review new policies with Bateman about attack prevention, and how to quickly and more efficiently inform the community. She then had to brief the liaisons on questions and concerns they may get from the their wards and the new policy changes. All in all, it was an extraordinarily tiring but rewarding day, one of which she was very happy to have had and that was over.

A loud pop startled Hermione from her thoughts and with a "Huzzah!", Draco belted out with excitement as he popped open a bottle of champagne. "Congratulations on catching the Huntsman!" He gleefully proclaimed, pouring himself and her a glass in lovely flutes that he must have brought with him.

Hermione grimaced, a joyful Draco was a rare sight, he was not one for smiling very often, which made the moments when he did worth savoring but the fact that he used the presses nickname irked her. "I had actually nothing to do it with it," she admitted flatly as Draco crossed the room to hand her a flute.

Draco smiled softly at her. "Hermione, your part may have seemed small, but I'm sure you deterred the killer from getting to anyone else." He clinked their flutes together. "Besides, if nothing else, we're celebrating the fact that I no longer have a security detail."

Hermione took a sip. She was not sure that what Draco had said was true, Hestia was still dead, her preventive measures surely failed her, and it seemed like the Aurors discovered the killer's identity by sheer luck. Though Harry did tell her that's how many murders were solved was pure dumb luck. Something still felt off to Hermione though, like this entire thing was just too easy. "I don't know Draco, I really feel like it was just chance that the Aurors got him."

Draco shrugged. "Who was it? The letters your department sent out didn't say anything and the papers are saying the Aurors aren't releasing the identity yet?"

Hermione sighed. "Harry's planning on releasing the name tomorrow, they just had a few loose ends to tie up before taking it public. It was Jeremy Jugson. He was in the first war and an escapee from Azkaban during the second. Apparently, he was one of the many Death Eaters that just disappeared after the Hogwarts Battle."

Draco face fell. "Shit, I knew he was anti-werewolf, he always had negative things to say when Grayback was working for Voldemort, but I didn't think he would ever act on it."

"He fits perfectly. I mean, he flew the country after the war, said he spent time in South America and that's where he first started killing. There's a big issue with drug cartels over there they just assumed it was gang related, I guess. It wasn't until last year that he came back and started targeting people here, and he confessed to all but a few of the attacks and both murders." Hermione sat down, watching Draco as he sat next to her.

Draco sighed "We just assumed he was dead. A lot of the Death Eaters after the war skipped town only to get themselves killed somewhere else." Draco leaned back in to the lounge and eyed Hermione carefully. "What's wrong?"

Hermione gave him a pitiful look, "I'm very happy we got him, he's admitted to everything and thus far all the information he's given us checks out, but," she took a small breath, "it just seems to easy, like he was just waiting for us to catch up to him."

"Do you think he's a puppet?" Draco cocked an eyebrow at her.

"No, that's the thing, he has every indication of being a loner, I just feel like we're missing something." She rolled her head back. "Or maybe I'm just overthinking this. Maybe my brain doesn't want it to be this easy. I grew up reading mystery novels, like Sherlock Holmes, and there were always these crazy tiny clues that lead to the murder." She laughed when she saw Draco's confused face. "Sherlock is a famous muggle detective in books."

Draco smiled again. "Of course, Hermione, what I think you're forgetting is that real life is far less dramatic and exciting than books. Besides, Jugson was never a master mind, the fact that he got away with it for this long is amazing. Take your wins where you can get them, life doesn't give them out often." Draco placed his flute on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her. "I know all too well how life loves to kick you in the teeth, but when it hands you good things," his stormy eyes grasping Hermione's "you have to hold on to it."

Hermione knew there was more laced into what he was saying, she knew that he wanted to tell her more. A part of her wanted him to elaborate, the other was terrified of what he would. She wasn't sure if she was ready for _those_ words, for _that_ commitment with him yet. She had so easily and quickly given her heart to Ron and that had ended in broken hearts.

Draco could see the worry and thoughts in Hermione's eyes. If he was honest with her now that could send everything into a tailspin, but he did love her. He could see himself with her a hundred years down the road with her. If he was honest with himself it was her, had always been her. He tried to tell himself it was a fascination, an infatuation, though he had always known what it truly was. He had managed to contain it, lock in a box at the back of his brain when the emotion for her put his life on the line but the last two months with her, laying in bed, watching her laugh at his humor, the way she glared at him when he made a rude joke about her friends. All of it brought his love for her to the surface, and he wanted her to know, he wanted to tell everyone that he met just how incredible this woman was and that she had chosen him. Making it a reality, however, terrified him. She had only been with him for two months, the idea that she loved him back was ludicrous, especially given their past. Draco instead kissed her softly. He would tell her eventually, when the time was right.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hey loves, sorry I just dropped off the face of the planet there for a bit, but we had a family emergency we needed to fly back for, but I'm home again. Anyways, thank you to those of you who came back! I promise I will get back on to my regular schedule next week! Until then, here is chapter 26!**

Chapter 26

Hermione's work life had slowed down considerably now with the capture and further jailing of Jugson, which allowed Draco to court her as he saw fit. Hermione had a way of letting her work like consume her, which Draco found admirable, but also inconvenient. The arrest also meant that Draco no longer had a security detail to consider and he could go through his transformations without an audience, that most of all he appreciated.

"I'm still not sure this is a great idea," Draco grimaced as he adjusted his jumper again. He chose to wear a deep blue jumper with a white pinstripe button up under it. Hermione said this was a very casual muggle look and would warm her parents to him.

Hermione laughed at his clear discomfort. "Draco, don't be so worried, they'll like you." She pulled her hair up into a ponytail. "After all I like you, so you can't be that bad."

Draco glared at her, meeting parents was a normal thing among pureblood families. In fact, it was expected that you must ask for permission from a girl's parents before you could begin courting her. Parents weren't Draco's issue, but the fact that once upon a time he would have been expected to kill them for being lesser was the part that bothered him. How could he to look them in the eye with the amount of shame he felt? "It's not them," Draco mumbled to himself.

Hermione slipped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his back. "You're not that person anymore, Draco, you have to forgive yourself."

Draco lolled his head back, forgiving himself was a hard concept, forgiveness period felt foreign. "I don't know how." He hoped she would have the right answer, that the next thing she would say would enlighten his soul, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy.

Hermione hugged him a little harder. "You'll figure it out."

Draco smirked to himself. "Thank you for the sage advice."

Hermione took his wrist and dragged him to the floo. "Come on, we don't want to be late. Nothing drives my parents more insane." Hermione pushed him in the floo and called an address and, before he knew it, he was looking in to a small sitting room with a lounge, two chairs, and the black box Hermione called a television. Draco ducked gracefully from the floo, and stepped in to the room, it had a homie feeling to it, pictures sat on the mantel to the fire place, a small Hermione grinning back at him. "You must be Draco," a man's voice came from behind him. Draco swallowed and turned to find Hermione's auburn eyes looking at him.

"Yes," Draco held out his hand to firmly shake the man's. "And you must be Mr. Granger."

"That I am." Mr. Granger gestured for Draco to sit. "Camellia will be in with tea shortly. Please, sit. And call me Jean."

Just then, Hermione's green ball of flame side tracked the conversation. "Hey, dad!" She grinned stepping out of the fireplace and wrapping him in a hug. "I see you've met Draco."

"Hey, 'Mione!" Jean embraced his daughter, and then let her go, gesturing her next to Draco.

"Yes, just now, so I don't know if I approve yet." He chuckled. Draco scoffed, he was not sure if he would ever gain his approval, but decided against the remark.

"Oh, Hermione!" A tall woman with Hermione's hair entered the room with a tray of tea which she placed on the coffee table and hugged Hermione. "How wonderful to see you." The woman looked over Draco. "And this must be Draco!" She shook Draco's hand too, but leaned to Hermione. "You failed to mention how good looking he is, darling. I mean, I always liked Ron, but he puts Ron to shame."

"Mother!" Hermione practically screeched. "First off, his attractiveness is irrelevant, and second, you're not suppose to compare him to my ex!"

Draco chuckled to himself. He was not perturbed by the comparison, he was quite used to older women sizing him up for their daughters. "I have no issue with being compared to Ron. It is a bit unfair, but Malfoy's don't like to play fair either." He grinned.

"Draco!" Hermione jaw hit the floor. "I thought you wanted to make a good impression with my parents."

"Well, he's not wrong," Camellia commented under her breath.

"Mother! I'll have you know that I'm still very good friends with Ron!" Hermione turned on her mother.

"I know, dear, friends is fine, and I'm sure he would have been a good husband, but, darling," Camellia sighed, "we knew."

Hermione's eye nearly popped out of her head. "Then why did you give us your blessing?!"

Draco felt the conversation intensifying. He slowly sat down and poured himself a cup of tea as Jean sank down into the chair next to him, nodded for a cup too, and Draco obliged. Apparently it was normal to let the women battle it out.

"What were we supposed to say no, then not be invited to our only child's wedding and not get to meet our grandchildren?" Camellia huffed.

"Mother, have more faith in me. We wouldn't have just thrown you out of our lives! That's utterly ridiculous!" Hermione retorted.

Camellia crossed her arms and gave Hermione an oh, really? look, which Draco suspected meant more to Hermione because he had never seen her conceded so quickly before.

"So, Draco, tell me what you do for a living," Jean piped up in the awkward silence that fell over the room.

Draco rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I don't actually work right now." Draco paused. "I imagine that soon I'll be taking over my father's business, but that is a very vague position." Draco looked at Jean who was waiting for him to explain. "Well, my father ran some sort of business that works in both private and government sector. I remember he used to take me to the ministry a lot as a child, but it seemed like he just walked around and asserted his influence on people of importance. Then he would go home and spend hours in his study writing letters. I was supposed to take over for him when came I of age, but Voldemort came to power, the war happened and then he was thrown in Azkaban."

"Your father was on the bad side?" Camellia was now looking very concerned.

Draco's eyes flicked to Hermione, he had assumed that she had told them of his past. "Uh, yes. I come from a long line of purebloods, and my father was one of Voldemort's first followers."

"Hermione!" Camellia snapped. "That would have been nice information to have!"

Hermione flinched, clearly she did not like to be reprimanded by her parents. "I just wanted you guys to give him a fair chance, mom."

"Camellia, maybe the boy had no choice." Jean had been watching Draco carefully.

"Oh, that's hogwash, Jean, everyone has a choice," Camellia scolded.

Jean tilted his head to the side, a questioning Camellia's statement, this seemed to be another silent conversation of its own. Draco sighed. "I did have a choice." He paused. "And I made the wrong one out of fear. I was afraid of losing everything that I had," he explained softly. "I didn't have the bravery to stand up for what was right," Draco looked at Hermione longingly, "something that both thrills and terrifies me about your daughter."

Hermione felt her cheeks light on fire. Draco was not normally soft, he could be very hard, cold, foreboding, and yet when he was with her something ignited between them, somehow she brought a spark of warmth into his life.

Camellia watched the two of them carefully. "Well, dinner should be ready any minute now." And with that, she lead them to the dining room.

Draco sat down at the table beside Hermione, who sat to her father's right. Before him on the table there was a fresh salad, some biscuits and a bowl of sauteed green beans. A few minutes later, Camellia entered the room again with a large dish of Lasagna. She placed it on the table and sat to her husbands left. "Hope you don't mind Lasagna," Camilla commented.

Draco smiled. "One of me best mates is Italian, and whenever I went to his house as a kid we had Italian, his mother made sure her cooking elf was born in Italy and everything." He realized as he looked up probably a unwise thing to say in current company.

"I believe Hermione told me about the enslavement of creatures in your world, it's simply tragic if you ask me." Camilla sighed as she began to server dinner for everyone.

Draco sighed. "It's not our most shining of accomplishments, I admit, but if I recall wizards are hardly the first to enslave and, granted, it has taken us far longer to realize our mistake, but I believe your daughter is in the process of changing life for house elves."

Camilla was just about to retort when Jean cut her off. "Speaking of work, Hermione, how are things?"

Hermione chimed in quickly, keen to divert the conversation. "Well, father, it's been quite rough actually. People have been quite upset with the Minister as of late. You see, a few months back, there was an escape from Azkaban, and now that the werewolf murderer has been caught, the papers are jumping on the escapees and how they haven't been captured yet. And, to make matters worse, reporters have been stalking Harry trying to get any information from him, then turning around and criticizing him in the Prophet for taking a day off to take James to Diagon alley."

Draco nodded. He'd seen the nasty articles bashing Harry for not being at work 24/7 trying to find the loose death eaters. "It's pretty nasty, if you ask me," Draco added. "Reporters are acting like he shouldn't have a life until they're caught."

Hermione agreed. "It's putting Harry under so much stress."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Camellia sighed. "We've always liked Harry very much." Camellia looked back at Draco, almost like she was sizing him up. Draco didn't flinch, he knew this was going to be a tense dinner, and having to tell Hermione's parents has not made it any easier.

Hermione brought the attention back to her. "Yes, well, we know Harry is tough, though. I'm sure he'll capture them soon and all of this will be behind us."

Jean managed to keep the rest of the conversation relatively light throughout most of the night, much to Draco's relief. It seemed Camellia had warmed up to Draco slightly, though considering where the conversation had been, she seemed to only slightly thawed.

Draco undid the button on his shirt as Hermione pulled off the dress that she had worn that night. "For a moment there, I thought your mom was going to throw me out of the house," he scoffed.

Hermione chuckled. "I did too, but you pulled through in the end."

"Why didn't she?" Draco turned around to find Hermione pulling on an oversized t-shirt on the other side of his suite.

Hermione paused for a moment. "Mom is very big on honesty, it's where I get it from. You were honest and open about you mistake and flaws, my mother respects that." Hermione padded across the room and wrapped her arms around Draco. "Thank you, I know meeting parents can be daunting, but you did very well."

"You can thank the pureblood training for that," Draco hummed softly.

Hermione kissed him lightly. "Well, let's hope the Weasley brunch goes as well."

Draco grasped Hermione's wrist as she turned away from him. "I'm sorry, what?"

Hermione bit her lip and turned her head to look at Draco. "The Weasley brunch?"

Draco gave her a stern look. "You said parents, not Weasley's."

"Draco, they basically are my parents, they..." She trailed off. "They were my parents for almost two years." Draco's brows furrowed, and Hermione sighed deeply. "Just before our seventh year, I oblivatied myself from my parents minds to protect them from the war."

Draco's jaw clenched. "Is that what your mom was referencing earlier tonight?"

Hermione nodded. "I didn't find them until after we graduated, and by then I had a steady boyfriend, finished school and a budding career. They were pretty upset that they missed so much, and that I made the decision for them." She traced his collarbone with the tips of her fingers.

Draco wrapped his arms tightly around her, once again finding himself the cause of her pain. "I'm sorry, that must have been unbelievably hard."

Hermione nodded. "But the Weasley's took me in like their own, which is why it's important to me that you get to know them. They were there for me when I had no one else in the world and they still treat me like family."

Draco sighed, there was not an ounce of him that wanted to see the Weasley's. He was sure that they would still see him as the stuck up little boy who was a Death Eater. "Okay," he muttered. It was important to Hermione so he at least owed her a chance. "But I maintain the right to defend myself."

"No magic," Hermione countered. The last thing she wanted was a duel in the kitchen.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine, no magic." Hermione beamed up at Draco and a sinking feeling grew in his stomach.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: HAHA! I told you I would get back to my schedule! And here I am, posting on Tuesday! Bawhahaha. You guys, thank you so much for not just giving up on me when I went on an announced hiatus, and thank you so so so much for you're comments! I always appreciate them! You guy just give me so much encouragement to keep going. I'm not going to lie, getting these last few chapters, done to wrap up this beast has been daunting to say in the least, but I swear on everything Dramione I will finish it! Hopefully well too. Lol. There's going to be some twists and turns, in a few chapters, so please keep you're arms, legs in ride at all times and enjoy the roller coaster!**

 **Chapter 27**

Hermione knocked gingerly on Harry's office door, and when a gruff voice called her in, she found Harry disheveled staring at the wall which he had plastered in with every bit of information he could get on Rookwood, Dolohov, and Nott Sr. "Harry..." Hermione trailed off.

Harry turned to look at Hermione. "It's like they just disappeared. No one has seen or heard from them since Azkaban, and every fucking lead I chase down is a dead end." He ran his hand through his messy hair.

Hermione bit her lip, the Prophet and the other journalists had been coming down hard on Kingsley and Harry about the loose Death Eaters. The public was in a uproar that it had been several months since their escape and they hadn't been caught, which left Harry in a very desperate situation because Kingsley's falling popularity meant he was putting the pressure on Harry to find them. "You'll find them, Harry," Hermione tried to reassure him.

Harry glared at her. "Hermione, this is what happened last time, they escaped and no one could find them until Voldemort had already risen."

"Harry," Hermione grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look her in the eye, her voice firm, "he's not coming back, he's gone."

Harry sighed, he massaged his forehead. "I know, but what if they find someone else to take his place? What if we are launched in to a third war?"

Hermione pursed her lips, she knew the threat was real, peace was always a precarious balance. "You'll find them, Harry, you've got an entire department and ministry behind you now, imagine what we would have done with that during the war."

Harry chuckled, and then nodded slowly, his hand clasping one hers. "I just feel like I'm being led down a rabbit hole," he sighed heavily, looking up at the paper covered wall again.

Hermione eyes followed Harry's and fell on the picture of Nott Sr. smirking smugly as if he knew something she didn't. "What if you are?" Hermione's brow furrowed as she thought, dropping her hands from his shoulders and stepping closer to the photos. "What if they're throwing you off of them with bad information?"

"It's possible, but I just can't let a lead go, Hermione. I just need something, anything really."

Hermione nodded and turned back to Harry, folding her arms. "Maybe just send one of the Aurors instead, your head is getting too foggy chasing down every trail." Hermione shrugged, she could tell that he knew she was right but was having trouble letting go. "Harry, you're in too deep, take a step back," she implored.

Harry sighed again, but nodded slowly.

Draco looked up at the Burrow, amazed that somehow this place still stood, with its odd floors and overhangs. Clearly magic held the home in place.

"Are you ready?" Hermione's voice sang sweetly beside him as they stood outside the gate.

Draco looked at her, apprehension building in his stomach. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready," Draco grumbled.

Hermione tsked. "Not with that attitude. They know you're coming so they've had time to adjust, just be nice, and I'm sure it will be fine."

Draco rolled his eyes but followed her through the small gate, and to what he assumed to be the front door. Hermione smiled back at him as she stepped up on the stoop and opened the door, and immediately Draco was hit with the smell of fresh muffins and a cacophony of noise burst of the doorway. After a beat, a chorus of " _Hermione's"_ rang through the air as she was ushered in to house. Draco slowly stepped up on to the stoop and before him found a kitchen full of Weaselys greeting Hermione just inside. He cautiously stepped through the doorway and, as if he cast a silencing spell on the room, a deafening quiet fell over the room. Draco slowly closed the door behind him as a room of eyes watched his every moment. He nodded. "Good morning."

The room stood frozen for a beat before a plump red haired woman stepped out from behind some men, obviously the matriarch of the Family. "Good morning, I hope you brought an appetite," she smiled. "Now tea or coffee?"

"Coffee please, and thank you." She nodded slowly. "Draco" He held out his hand to shake hers.

"Molly," she smiled at him. "How do you like it?"

"Black, thank you."

"Excellent." She turned around to find the rest of the room still staring at them. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" She belted. "He's not dangerous."

"Says you." said one of the men that Draco recognized to be one of the twins that he went to Hogwarts, the only twin now, Draco recalled solemnly.

"Watch yourself, George" Molly warned.

The twin's eyes met Draco's. "I will," his voice cold.

Draco braced himself. This was what he had been expecting, the Weasley's lost so much in the war. A war that they held him accountable and rightly so, Draco admitted to himself.

"James Sirius, stop running this instant!" A small child came bolting into the stiff room followed by a woman Draco recognized as Ginny. The boy stopped dead in front of Draco and looked up at him.

The small boy held out a hand, Draco hesitated for a moment but took the small hand in his. The small boy smiled and pulled Draco through the crowd and in to another room that had train tracks and trains sprawled across the floor. The boy started handing Draco small trains and rambling, about what Draco hadn't a clue, but the boy seemed proud of his toys as he kept handing them Draco with a look of pride in his eye.

"James, I don't think Mr. Malfoy knows how to play with your trains." Draco looked up and Harry was sitting opposite him smirking at Draco's clear discomfort with the situation.

James seemed to care not at all about his father's advice and continued picking things up and handing them to Draco. "Potter," Draco nodded.

"Malfoy," Harry replied. "I see you made it, should be an interesting meal." He smiled mischievously.

Draco scoffed. "Yeah, going over well so far."

"I figured it was you that managed to silence the house, that's not something that happens often here," Harry chided.

Draco nodded solemnly. "Well, it happens often to me so I'm not unfamiliar with it." Draco heard shuffling behind him and noticed the Weasleys were filtering in to the room.

Hermione slipped next to Draco, taking his hand firmly, holding it in hers. She smiled up at him and whatever courage Draco had lost was built back up. He kissed her softly on top of the head and gave her hand a tight squeeze. "Well then, let me introduce you, I guess," Hermione said slowly as he went around the room and introduced the many Weasleys, their spouses, and offspring. Draco had known there were plenty of Weasleys but, as Hermione explained who was who and which children belonged where, Draco realized that he had missed out on such a large family. Draco's parents always told him that he came from a proud long line, but at the end of the day, they were the only living Malfoys, Lucius had been an only son like him and his mother only spoke of her sister Andromeda once when she was very young. Hermione finally ended on Ron. "And of course you know Ron, and this is his fiancè, Sara." She turned to him and smiled again, as if this was just a normal meet and greet the boyfriend. Draco grimaced, he was highly outnumbered.

Another thick tension filled the room as Draco looked up the long line of various redheaded Weasleys, sure that at any giving chance one of them was curse him back to last century but, as if on cue, Molly shuffled into the room. "Okay, everyone, food is ready, let's all sit down to eat." Molly flashed another smile at Draco, but it was clearly forced, for Hermione's sake.

Draco watched as everyone started to moved back out of the room and into the kitchen that Molly had just finished extending temporarily to accomodate all her guests. Draco sat down next to Hermione and watched the Weasley dynamic unfold around him. He had never had a meal that was so loud and ruckus. They fought and laughed and talked over each other and Hermione looked as if she were at home, almost more so then with her own parents. Was this what it was like in a normal family? Was this what regular families without pedigrees acted? Was this the kind of life that Hermione wanted? Was this a life Draco wanted? He pondered these things as he watched the chaos of brunch in front of him, being sure to keep under the cloak. Once everyone was finished, they helped clean up and then headed outside for what seemed to be a regular Quidditch scrimmage that they all liked to play.

Hermione turned to Draco. "Do you want to play?" she smiled sweetly.

Draco pursed his lips. "Maybe some other time," he murmured. "I have a feeling too many bludgers might go astray."

Hermione frowned a bit, but seemed to reason with him. "Okay, well, it's my job to keep score, apparently I'm the only one everyone trusts to not be biased," she chuckled.

"Well, see, now I know I shouldn't play, hate to give an unfair advantage, sleeping with the ref and all," Draco scoffed.

Hermione's eyebrow quirked up. "I would consider that a severe disadvantage," she smiled back. From the pitch however, everyone began to obnoxiously call her name. "Okay, okay!" she yelled back. Hermione gave Draco a quick peck and darted across the garden, leaving Draco to himself.

This whole thing was strange to Draco. He wondered if this was what it was like to have siblings, that maybe if he had a sibling that they would play Quidditch together. "You did well for your first brunch,"

a female voice came from behind him.

Draco looked over his shoulder to find Ginny standing just behind him. "Why aren't you playing?" he wondered. "Don't you play professionally?"

"I do," she smiled, "points for knowing, but I'm pregnant again, so flying is not necessarily a great idea."

"Oh. Well, congratulations," Draco nodded.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I'm just a couple of months along, but I'd still rather not risk falling off." She stepped up to Draco's side. "Why aren't you playing?"

Draco grimaced. "I'm not sure I'd be a good addition yet."

Ginny smiled. "Yeah, probably not yet, but you'll get there. If I remember correctly you're a decent seeker."

Draco smirked. "I had my moments, not like wonder boy though."

Ginny laughed. "Right, well, he's slowed down since fatherhood, so you might stand a chance now."

"I'll keep that in mind." They watched them play for a long time, Harry managed to crash into a Weasley and fall off his broom and, in a heartbeat, Hermione was beside him, Draco bit back some frustration.

"You'll get used to it," Ginny elbowed him, apparently she caught his glare.

Draco eyed her for a moment. "You got used to it?" He watched her carefully, trying to gauge how much she knew of Harry and Hermione's relationship and how much it actually bothered her.

"It used to drive me bonkers," she admitted. "I felt like I was constantly the third wheel on their relationship. Like I had to fight her for Harry's attention, and I lost it when he told me the truth."

"So he did tell you." Draco shifted slightly to see Ginny better.

"And she told you apparently." Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Yes, Harry couldn't keep it from me."

Draco looked at her hard. "And you're really okay with how close they are?"

Ginny sighed. "For the most part. There are sometimes when they're just too much, but I realized a long time ago that she can be there in a way for him that I just can't." She sighed softly. "They rely on each other in a strange way, and in a way only they understand, and you just have to accept that."

Draco looked up at the game again, Harry was back on his broom and Hermione was back to calling out points and fouls. He still wasn't sure, he had already felt like he was battling Potter for recognition at Hogwarts, he didn't know how well he could cope with competing for Hermione's attention. "What if I can't?"

Ginny looked up at him. "Then you'll lose her," her voice frank.

Draco gritted his teeth, he didn't want to ask for advice, he didn't like to admit he needed help ever, but this was not something he was sure he could do without her insight. "How then? How did you accept it?"

Ginny smirked. "I just realized that if he loved Hermione the way he loves me, he would have chosen her. It's not like they never got the chance, they did, they just chose other people." She kicked at the grass. "And I chose to trust him," she stated simply.

Draco let go of a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, trust had not been his fortè. "Was it that simple?"

Ginny laughed. "No, it's not that simple," she chuckled, "but that's love. Giving someone your heart and hoping they don't crush it. It's scary but wonderful."

Draco looked at Ginny. She had a wistful look in her eye and a meek smile on her lips. Draco hadn't noticed how much of a beautiful woman she had become, her wild red hair had darkened with age and her freckles faded into her skin tone but she had a wiser look to her since their school years. Draco had never truly known Ginny and yet somehow he felt as if they were connected in some way. "I'm sorry."

Ginny's brows knitted together. "For what?"

Draco ran his hand through his hair. "About the Diary, I didn't know it would almost kill you."

A look of shock washed over her face. "You knew?"

Draco ground his teeth and took a deep breath. "Yes, and I'm sorry I didn't stop Lucius."

Ginny looked as if she was about to say something, but instead she paused. "He abused you."

Draco's eyes narrowed, he was sure he hadn't told her that, which meant Hermione must have told her. He took a deep breath, suppressing his frustration. "It's no excuse. I'm sorry I let that happen."

Ginny stared at Draco for a long time, clearly considering his apology. "thank you" she finally said. "You've done a lot of growing up." She turned back to the game watching as everyone started to head back to the house.

"Yeah, well, shit happens." Draco shrugged and looked back at the field where everyone else had been playing, except everyone was now walking back to the burrow, laughing and teasing each other as they went. Ginny, without another word, left him standing in the garden as she went to meet Potter who happily slung an arm around her and kissed her on top of the head. _Was that what a real marriage looked like?_ He wondered to himself. His parents had never been affectionate towards each other and none of the adults in his life seemed to like each other that much either, let alone be in love. He was fucked, he decided, he had no idea how to be in a loving marriage, Hell, he barely knew how to be in a relationship. His mother encouraged him to follow his heart as a child, she always wanted more for him than a loveless marriage, but she was never able to show him what that sort of relationship looked like. While he had dated while at Hogwarts it had always been with girls he knew he was supposed to like, girls Lucius would approve of, not because he actually liked them. _No,_ he thought, _the girl he always liked was unacceptable. Oh how Lucius must be turning in his grave._ Draco smiled at the image of his father having an ethereal conniption.

"What are you smiling about?" Hermione giggled as she approached Draco.

Draco shook his head, and pulled her into his, chest wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Nothing," he muttered as he lifted her chin to place a sweet kiss on her lips.

"Oi! None of that now!" Ron bellowed from behind Hermione.

"Shut it, Ron!" Ginny snapped back at him, "You're such a bloody hypocrite, you snog Sara all the time!"

"No one actually likes him!" Ron barked. "Everyone likes Sara!"

"Yeah, but no one likes you!" Ginny retorted, Ron turned a shade of red as everyone in the garden exploded with laughter.

"Ginny would have been an excellent Slytherin," Draco mumbled softly as he and Hermione proceeded back to the Burrow with everyone else.

Hermione burst into laughter again. "Don't you utter such things around here. You're liable to be banished for life."


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hey loves! Another on time chapter! Yay! Thank you soooo much for your comments. I'm so thrilled you guys are liking the way way this is going! So, remember** **how I told you to buckle up? Well, we're here. I really hope you like it!**

 **Chapter 28**

The morning light was filtering in to Hermione's room and she felt Draco shift behind her. She smiled and rolled over to kiss him on the shoulder sweetly before carefully climbing out of bed and tiptoeing to the bathroom. In the four months they had been technically dating, she had learned that Draco was a miserable morning person and it was just best to let him wake on his own. She quietly closed the bathroom door and started the shower, the room slowly filling with steam as she undressed and brushed her teeth. When she stepped into the shower, the hot water washed over her body and she let out a heavy slow breath. Their night at the Weasley's went well enough. It, of course, could have gone better, but considering that no punches were thrown and only a few jibes here and there, she marked it up as successful. She had never expected for Draco to instantly make amends with everyone, but no curses, and remaining civil were steps in the right direction. _Baby steps,_ she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and started rinsing out her hair when a pair of arms snaked their way around her waist and started to drift down her hips. "Draco," she murmured, as his hands slid between her thighs, grazing her lips. "I have to go to work," she moaned as his fingers found her sensitive spot, his firm body pressed against her back.

"Then I suppose I should keep this short," he whispered into the shell of her ear, as his other hand drifted upwards to massage her nipple.

Hermione made another weak moan as Draco continued his ministrations on her sensitive spots, but before she knew it, her back was pressed firmly against the shower wall, the hot water falling over their bodies as they indulged in each other. Hermione made it in to work only slightly late that morning, but thoroughly sated.

"Good morning, Ma'am," Melody greeted.

"Good morning," Hermione smiled.

"Mr. Potter has requested a meeting with you, as soon as possible," Melody informed her.

Hermione's brows knitted together. "When did he ask to see me?"

Melody bit her lip. "He was here a bit ago, but you weren't here yet so he left a note with me."

Hermione's heart sank, of course the one time she wasn't here early. "Okay, thank you, Melody."  
Hermione dropped her things off at her desk and headed back to the lift, punching in the floor of the Auror department. When she found Harry he was talking to a group of Aurors over what looked like a floor plan. "Harry?"

Harry's head snapped up. "Hermione!" He looked at the Aurors and excused them. After they left Hermione closed the door.

"There was break in at the Nott Manor last night," Harry said as he excitedly rounded the desk.

Hermione paled. "Is Theo okay?"

"Oh, yeah, he's fine, but apparently it was his father that broke in, and he saw him." Harry looked like he was about to jump off the walls.

"Okay," Hermione said slowly.

"Nott Senior wanted Nott Junior to join him in the uprising. They're planning a comeback and they're trying to recruit," Harry said seriously.

Hermione's stomach hit the floor. "Do you think they're coming after Draco?"

"That's the hope!" Harry spun back around, and it suddenly dawned on Hermione that this was a plot of the Malfoy Manor.

"Harry, no, you can't use Draco as a lure," Hermione almost yelled, as fear ran up her spine.

Harry looked up at her, utterly bewildered. "But, Hermione..." he drifted off.

Hermione was clenching her hands, her breath quickened and a cold sweat started to break out across her forehead, her vision narrowed and blurred and all she could think and feel was her heart racing, her pulse pounding in her ears. She felt the fear consuming her, she felt the complete loss of control of her body, her surroundings, and her mind. All she could feel was the terror, a terror she felt when they were on the run from Voldemort. Her body trembled as screams started to echo in her mind and the smell of burnt flesh invaded her senses. She felt arms wrap around her and holding her close and hard, and then Harry's voice started whispering in her ear, "I am here, you are safe," over and over again, slowly the words became louder and her pulse faded. She felt herself on the floor rocking slowly back and forth and her vision cleared and she realized that she was looking at black polished oxfords. She slowly looked up to find a horrified looking Draco.

"Draco," she mumbled softly.

Draco knelt down in front of her, cupping her face in his hands. He said nothing, but the look of concern told her everything she needed to know. She took his hand in hers, and he slowly pulled her up and securely wrapped himself around her. She heard Draco speaking but his voice was muffled and still fuzzy as her senses slowly returned to her.

"What do you mean, panic attack?" Draco's voice was sharp, and Hermione clenched his shirt.

"She had a panic attack when I started to tell her about a plan." She still heard Harry's voice clear as day.

"What plan?" Draco's voice becoming more and more terse.

"Look here, Malfoy, I have been dealing with these far longer than you have. Don't think you can come in now and..."

Hermione felt Draco tighten around her even more. "Piss off, Potter! She's my girlfriend and I'll do whatever it takes to protect her!"

"You didn't seem to care if she lived or died while Bellatrix-" Harry yelled but Draco cut him off again.

"You don't know shit, Potter! You were locked-" Harry cut in this time,

"Oh, sorry, who the fuck put me there?!" Harry screamed.

"Stop," Hermione whimpered, pulling away from Draco. She steadied herself on Harry's desk and the two men fell silent. "Draco, it was a panic attack, Harry didn't do anything to inflict it, they just happen." She looked at him pleadingly, then turned to Harry, "and Harry, we've established he was shit in the past but continuing to bring it up is only going to cause more hurt."

Hermione watched Harry as he bristled but then resigned. "Sorry, Hermione."

Hermione turned back to Draco, whose jaw was still set, but briefly softened. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Excellent, now I need to sit for a minute, and I could use a glass of water." Draco took her arm and held on to her as she sat down in the chair across from Harry's desk. Draco then knelt down beside her and his thumb rubbing slow circles into her knee.

"You scared the me there for moment," his voice soft and low.

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "They don't happen often anymore and most of the time I can stop myself before they get bad, this one just blindsided me." Harry reappeared and handed her a glass of water and she nodded, taking a sip. Draco's brow furrowed, clearly he was concerned but didn't know what to say. Hermione smiled at him. "I'm okay. I promise."

Draco grimaced, but squeezed her hand to reassure himself more than her. He looked over his shoulder at Harry, who was still standing behind him. "Now, will someone please tell me why I needed to come in urgently?" His voice still edging on the harsh side, he slowly stood to face Potter.

Potter just stared him down for long moment, before breaking the tense silence. "Nott residence was broken into last night, and Senior tried to recruit Junior." Harry slid away from Draco and stood behind desk. "Luckily, it seems Junior has no interest in them and he came to us instead."

Draco eyed Harry, still not sure where he was came into all of this. "Theo never really cared for his father period and Voldemort even less. Still, this has very little to do with me, from what I can tell."

Hermione stood up behind Draco, who immediately turned to catch her in his stormy gaze. "Harry wants use you as lure."

Draco looked back at Harry. "Done."

Hermione's mouth fell open. "Draco, do you even understand how much danger you could be in?!"

Draco turned back to look at her, an almost sorrowful look on his face. "Hermione, I brought them to Hogwarts, they used the Manor as their headquarters, I know how dangerous they are. I helped them." Regret now overcoming his face. "And I did shit to stop them in the end. I need to do this."

Hermione pursed her lips, every fiber of her body was screaming this was a terrible, terrifying idea. She couldn't bear the thought of losing someone else close to her. The war had already taken so many from her, but Draco's look told her that he needed this chance at redemption more than she needed to protect him.  
"Draco, please... just.." she trailed off, she wanted so much to beg him not to, "be careful." She wrapped herself around him again, fighting the fear that tried to consume her.

"Excellent," Harry said softly. "Now Malfoy-" Draco squeezed Hermione again, but then let her go to join Harry on opposite side of the desk both men craning over the map. What they were actually saying to each other was lost on Hermione, she hoped that eventually they would have been friends but this was not the way she envisioned it happening.

* * *

Several days had passed since Draco and Harry devised a plan to infiltrate the Death Eaters' headquarters. Draco went about his life like normal, all the while waiting for someone to find him. He saw Hermione, ran errands, met with friends, but always returned to the manor at night without Hermione. He was just beginning to think that all these efforts had been for naught when, one evening, he returned from dinner with Hermione to find someone sitting at his desk.

"Draco," the voice called as Draco strode into the office, "it has been quite some time," the smug-looking Nott Senior greeted.

"Mr. Nott," Draco said coolly, retaining his composure. "I was sure you had taken up residence in Azkaban."

"Ah, now, Draco, you must have read about my escape from the newspapers or at the very least seen the posters at Diagon. Surely you're not that daft." Nott's lips curled into a taunting smile.

Draco smirked. "Is that what those ugly posters are all over the place are? I just assumed they were early Halloween decorations."

Nott scoffed. "Oh Draco, always so clever, so intelligent, quick witted." Nott stood slowly. "And yet, we come to find out that you're dating a mudblood, and not just any mudblood," Nott rounded the desk " _the_ mudblood." The words fell from Notts mouth like acid and yet Draco kept his cool. "What, nothing witty to say Draco? No sly little comment? Did you honestly think we wouldn't know? You have destroyed the Malfoy line with her," Nott paused for a moment, "filth."

Draco's jaw tightened. "Did it ever occur to you that I'm merely manipulating her? That perhaps I'm trying to tear her down from the inside, ruin her mind instead of her body?"

Nott tsked. "Ah, but Draco if that was the case, then why did you contaminate yourself?" Nott snarled.

Draco let the words fall over him and he fought the urge to retaliate, he needed them to believe him. "The best way to manipulate people is with sex, so yes, I did have to soil myself, but she needed to believe that I cared for her, that I," he let loose the shudder that he'd been holding back, "desired her."

Nott watched Draco carefully. "And pray tell, what did you intend to do with her once you had her at your feet?"

Draco smirked. "I knew eventually there would be a rebellion. I would bide my time and, when the moment was right, I would hand her over and Potter would be at our mercy. Potter would do anything for that mudblood." The word hung heavily on Draco's tongue.

Nott watched him. "And where is she now? Can you deliver her to us?"

Draco eyed him carefully. "Depends on who is "us"? Who's leading this siege?"

Nott's mouth curled up evilly again. "See, Draco, there's only one issue: We don't believe you. We think you fell in love with a filthy mudblood, and then my traitor of a son went to the ministry instead of choosing his family. That filthy mudblood convinced you to betray your lineage too, so here you are trying to dig information out of me to turn around and give to Potter. Really, Draco, did you think that we were that dumb? That we wouldn't see past this pathetic scheme?"

Draco heard shuffling behind him and his stomach hit the floor, he looked over his shoulder to see two other hooded figures standing behind him. _Fuck,_ he thought, _how was he going to talk his way out of this?_ But before he could even say anything, a flash of red caught his peripheral as Nott threw a spell at him. Draco leaped to the side, falling hard to the ground as the room erupted into chaos. Suddenly all three wizards were throwing spells at Draco and he was doing his best to deflect the curses. Draco scrambled to his feet, casting a new protego every time a new spell was thrown his way, but three to one odds were steep and Draco felt himself losing the battle. Draco started throwing his own offense spells. He managed to hit Nott with a reducto that sent him flying across the room into a bookshelf that collapsed on impact, but it was in that moment a stupefy hit him in the rib cage and Draco's world went dark.

* * *

Draco's head was pounding and his body aching. He rolled his head back but his head hit something. He groaned loudly and tried to rub the back of his skull only to find that his hands were tied behind his back. The image of Nott and the other hooded figures floated back into his head. _Fuck._ Draco steadied his nerves, this was not exactly the way the plan was supposed to go. He listened for any movement around him, when he heard nothing he slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but across from him he see a pale white light illuminating a fuzzy figure, everything else around him was shrouded in darkness. He blinked and slowly the figure became clearer, it looked like someone else tied up. He shook his head, immediately regretting it as the pain in his head blossomed, but his vision cleared enough to see their hair was a dark color and they seemed to be wearing red. He blinked again and the figure became more defined and he realized dark curls obscured the figure's face, but that the red was the same dress that Hermione had worn to their dinner that night. Draco's heart stopped in terror. Draco struggled to get out of his binds, twisting and contorting his wrists, only causing himself more pain but he couldn't care less for himself. "Hermione!" His voice was low and slightly raspy. "Hermione, wake up!" he called, trying to keep his voice low enough not to alert their captors but loud enough to wake her.

"Draco, Draco."

A cool smooth voice came from behind him and Draco's blood ran cold. _It couldn't be,_ his thoughts horrified at the familiarity of the voice. Draco heard the crisp clicks of steps slowly, methodically approaching him. His entire body stiffened preparing to see a nightmare come to life.

"A mudblood, truly you disgrace yourself and the Malfoy name. I thought I raised you better," Lucius drawled slowly. He came in to Draco's view, the pale white light barely illuminating him.

"You're fucking dead, this is a hallucination." Draco let his head thump against the metal pole he was bound to and scoffed to himself. Perfect, now he was delusional. Lucius leaned down and back handed Draco and as the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, horror once again set in. Lucius was alive and he had Hermione.

"I'm not dead, you petulant fool," Lucius sneered. "I took Draught of Living Death to fake my passing then, after my burial, the Montague's son slipped into the family mausoleum and gave me the antidote. Did you honestly think I was dead, Draco? Driven to insanity at Azkaban?"

Draco smirked. "Well, one can only hope." This time, Lucius struck him with his cane and more blood rushed into his mouth. Draco spat it out and laughed. "So, you're the mastermind behind all of this? Or have you started sucking a different mad man's cock?" This earned Draco a very painful kick to his side.

"How dare you speak to your father like that!" Lucius seethed. "If it weren't for me you wouldn't have existed!" he spat.

"Congratulations, you did all of two seconds worth of work, do you want a fucking medal?" Draco provoked. Lucius kicked him again, and Draco was sure he had snapped a rib because breathing was became very painful.

"Keep it up, Draco, and this will only get more painful," Lucius warned, his voice becoming a growl.

Draco scoffed again. "There isn't shit you could do to me now that you haven't already done."

"That's probably true," Lucius admitted, and he moved slowly away from Draco. "But her," he sauntered towards Hermione, "she has yet to feel my wrath. And since you're numb to my discipline," Lucius stepped in to the pool of light that surrounded Hermione, "perhaps I should find _other_ tactics," he leered.

Draco was struggling against his restraints, he had been trying to keep the attention off Hermione by provoking Lucius. "Don't you _fucking_ touch her!" he thundered.

"Ah, see, it seems to be working already." Lucius taunted. He snapped his fingers and Hermione jolted to life. She looked around her widely then froze when her eyes landed on Lucius.

"Hermione!" Draco roared and her head snapped towards him

"Draco?" Hermione breathed, still trying to gather her bearings.

"Fucking leave her alone, Lucius!" Draco threatened.

Lucius ran a hand through her curls. "It seems to be the only way to get you to pay attention, Draco. You know how important it is for you to behave."

Hermione looked up at the man that was supposed to be dead. "What do you want, Lucius?" she breathed.

Lucius had no patience for her and yanked her curls backwards, bending down close to her face. "Don't you dare speak to me like that, you filthy little mudblood!" He spat.

Hermione tried to move her face away from his but only managed to pull her hair in his grip. She let out a pained growl.

"Leave her alone!" Draco bellowed again, but Lucius ignored him.

"I want what I was promised, before you and that halfwit murdered my Lord. I want revenge for poisoning my son, and lineage, with your filthy body." He twisted Hermione's neck back.

Hermione could hear Draco struggling and yelling from somewhere in the darkness. "Fuck off. This world was better when we all thought you were dead. Narcissa and Draco were both far off better without you." This earned Hermione a back hand but at least he had let go of her hair.

"Hermione, not another word!" Draco warned her, but Hermione wasn't concerned.

"You are a waste of magic, of life, and you dare to say that I was the infection of this world?" Lucius was uncomfortably close to her, she could feel his breath on her skin and her body shuddered at the thought.

Hermione smiled to herself. "Worse than Dragon Pox." Lucius struck her again and she felt a warm rush of blood fill her mouth.

Draco kept struggling to get himself loose enough when he head a small clinking on the floor. He looked down and a galleon lay on the ground just beside him and a small relief washed over plan could still work, but then another thought occurred to him: if he sets off his coin then Hermione's was likely to go off too, and there was no way that loud shrieking would go unnoticed. His jaw locked and, knowing Hermione, there was no way she didn't have it on her. He debated for a long moment, but decided that it was worth the risk to get them out of there. He focused his mind. _Accio galleon,_ but the coin didn't move. _Fuck._ He took another breath and imagined the galleon in his hand. _Accio galleon._ The little galleon scuttled across the floor into his hand and Draco felt a pang of hope. He fiddled with it but slowly managed to turn the edge on the coin twice. Draco refocused his attention on Lucius, who was now slowly circling Hermione.

"Stop. Whatever it is you want, I'll do it."

Lucius looked up slowly at Draco. "You think I want something from you?" A cruel smile crossing his face. "Draco, you're dead to me. The minute you defiled yourself, I disowned you. I hoped that setting you loose would be enough to keep you in line, but apparently you were too daft and kept on with this," he looked down at Hermione, "impurity."

Suddenly, a door burst open behind Draco and hurried steps filled the room. Nott Senior rushed passed Draco to Lucius. He leaned into the Lucius and hissed something into his ear and Lucius' face narrowed at Draco. "Search him," Lucius demanded. Nott turned on his heel and stomped towards Draco. Draco tried to wedge to coin between himself and the pole, hoping that Nott was still as oblivious as he was when he and Theo used to play together as kids.

Nott dropped to his knees just before Draco and started to roughly search him, grabbing and pulling at every inch of his body. He ripped Draco forward, trying to get in to a pocket when a soft clinking sound came from behind Draco. Nott looked up slowly, a slimey grin on his face as he picked up the galleon Draco had tried to hide. "It's here."

"Excellent," Lucius intoned. "Can you reverse the message still?"

Nott looked hard at the coin, muttering to himself. "How did Jug get this stupid thing to work again?"

Lucius let out a very annoyed sigh. "He said the outside turns." Nott played with it a few more seconds and figured out how to use it.

"How many time does it need to turn?"

Lucius' frustration was clearly escalating. "I don't know, you fool. I didn't kill Hestia."

"You were behind Hestia's murder too?" Hermione asked, trying to figure out the reach of this rebellion.

Without warning, Lucius turned and swiftly kicked Hermione in the ribs. "Silence, mudblood." And Lucius hit her with another stupefy, knocking her out again. He turned towards Draco. "We have to move before the Aurors get here." And, with another stupefy, Draco's world went black.

 **A/N: Also we are very quickly catching up to the point where I'm still writing. So in a couple chapters, you may see some inconsistent posting just because I'm behind. I know, I'm sorry. I'm just struggling with how I want to wrap this up. I'm trying so hard to ensure that I'm not giving you guy a cop out ending. I'll let you know when I run out of chapters so you're aren't just left hanging.**

 **Love, MommaBadger**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Hey Loves! So I hope you're okay with the turn this story took, don't worry all will work out well in the end I promise! I wouldn't do that to you! So just hang in there with me? If you don't that's okay too. Thank you for the feed back I'm sorry you guys were taken off guard I've been trying to drop hints that something is going to go down, but I guess I'm not super great at it haha.**

 **If any of you keep track on chapter numbers, no I didn't just drop a chapter I went in and added 25.5 to 25 and then renumbered the rest of the chapters, so nothing is lost, and you're not crazy. Lol. Now to the next chapter!**

 **Chapter 29**

Harry flinched as James launched himself into the bathtub again, sending a giant splash of water in every direction. Harry couldn't help but laugh, he tried to maintain boundaries and rules with James, but he also felt that after growing up with the Dursley's that it was important to let kids have fun, play and, in general, be kids. So, while he taught James to be respectful and listen, he also let him be loud and adventurous, letting him test the limits with a reckless abandon. Which led to Harry getting drenched almost every bath night, but in his mind it was just water, and he was creating memories. "Okay, James, the water is starting to get cold, time to get out and go to sleep." James frowned, but clumsily climbed out of the bath regardless, waiting for his father to wrap him up in a towel so they would go put on jammies before books and bed.

"Hey Harry," Ginny popped her head in to the bathroom, "that coin is whistling."

Harry was mid wrapping James when he looked over his shoulder at Ginny. "The Galleon on the counter?" His brows knitting together, Ginny nodded, a worried look on her face. Harry picked James up, kissed him on the forehead and squeezed him tightly. "James, Mum is going to have to read you a book tonight. Daddy's work needs him." Harry hated how much he had to say that phrase, _daddy's work needs him_ usually meant that he wouldn't be back home for at least a day.

"But, Daddy!" James whined as Harry handed him to Ginny. "I want Daddy!"

Ginny tickled James, who broke out in gleeful giggles. "Oh really, now? And what am I, chopped liver?" She laughed.

Harry smiled, seeing Ginny be a mother always warmed his heart, but a sense of urgency was nagging at him. "Sorry, honey."

Ginny looked up at him. "It's okay. Go. Say night, James." She smiled down at the toddler.

"Bye!" James yelled.

Harry kissed them both and shuffled out of the room and downstairs to the coin which at this point was making an awful noise. He grabbed his wand on the counter beside the coin, took a deep breath and grabbed on the the coin. The next moment he found himself standing in dark woods. "Lumos," he muttered and white light flicked on at the top of his wand. Harry couldn't see or hear anything. He slowly stepped forward looking for signs of other people.

"Harry?" a hushed voice asked behind him

Harry turned to find Ron illuminated by his own wand. "Where are the others?" Harry asked. "do you see anyone?"

"I dunno, I grabbed on to the port key and it brought me here on a few moments before you got here. I haven't seen or heard anyone but you."

Harry face became grim. The Portkey was supposed to take them straight to the source. "You think there's warding keeping us out?"

Ron shrugged. "Could be, that would explain why we didn't all land in the same spot too, 'cause the keys could only take us to the perimeter of the warding." There was a twig snap to the left of Harry and both men pointed their wands in that direction, only to find a Jamison, another Auror, approaching.

"Hey boys, glad to be seein ya here, getin' abit worried when I keyed inta da woods at nigh by meself." His thick accent cutting through the stillness as he smiled at them.

Harry lowered his wand. "Hey, Jamison." He was very glad to see Jamison, he was one of the best Aurors, with an intimate understanding of the dark arts. He had attended Durmstrang, and his father was thrown in Azkaban after the war. But Jamison fell in love with a muggle girl, so he left the dark side. "We need to push forwards,"Harry looked at the two men.

"Yeah, great mate, but in what direction?" Ron scoffed, gesturing to the dense forest around them.

"Well, I keyed in facing north west," Harry waited, hoping they had also landed facing the same direction.

"I landed facing more westerly," Jamieson added.

"I came in just behind Harry," Ron confirmed.

"Right, then, west it is." Harry pressed forward, towards the west, the others falling in flank positions. Harry didn't know why but a sense of dread fell over him. They moved carefully, listening to the woods around them. There was something off however, it was too quiet. There were no bugs or bats or anything making sounds. Harry slowed his pace. Just in front of him he felt something like a change in pressure. "Reducto," Harry cast, and, sure enough, the spell seemed to bounce off an invisible wall just in front of the. "Warding," Harry said under his breath. "Okay, on three, Reducto," Harry slowly counted down, the only way to break through warding like this was by brute force, and the more force, the better. On three, massive bursts of blue lights exploded from all three of their wands and hit the shield with a booming force. The shield rippled from the hit, but still stood strong, "Again, on three," Harry instructed. "One...Two.." Just as three came to the tip of Harry's tongue, the pressure around them released and sound returned to the forest. Harry paused, bent down picked a rock up off the forest floor, and tossed it in to the wall that had been in front of them, however the rock flew straight past and skipped along the ground on the other side. _Shit, that's not good._ "Search the area, call the others to help."

Two patronus' burst to life beside Harry, Ron's Jack Russell terrier and Jamison's workhorse. Harry watched as the two spectral animals flew off into the distance, heading in seperate directions.

"Do we keep going?" Ron asked, waiting for directions.

Harry thought for a long moment. "No, we'll stay together until others arrive. We'll move once the others are here." It only took a few minutes before more aurors arrived using their galleons. To Harry's surprise and worry, Hermione had yet to be seen. After the party was organized and people were starting to head out in groups, Harry pulled Ron aside. "I want you to head up the search."

Ron gave Harry a confused look. "Why? Where are you going?"

"I want to check on Hermione," Harry replied calmly.

Ron looked around watching as the groups dispersed. "She's not here?" The confusion spreading to his voice.

Harry shook his head. "No, so I just want to check on her, you know, just to be sure."

Ron turned back to Harry, a stressed look on his face. "Do you think something is wrong?"

Harry locked his jaw. "I hope not." He apparated away from the forest to the alleyway just down the street from Hermione's. He was concerned when she didn't key to the forest when the alarm went off. Hermione had made a point to be at every alert thus far and, with Draco's undercover plan, Harry was sure she would be there. As the thought ran through his head, a queasy, nervous feeling sank into Harry. He hoped Ron and the search team would find clues as to where they may have gone after the the initial jumping point. Harry trotted up the staircase to Hermione's flat, the nervousness growing with each step he took. _Hermione just wouldn't miss a alarm, that was totally out of her nature._ Harry knocked firmly on her door, but no answer came. Harry gritted his teeth and knocked again. "Hermione?" he called firmly, hoping she would recognize his voice and come sprinting to the door, but again, no answer, no shuffling. Harry felt his palms grow sweaty as gripped his wand and cast Alohomora, which would open up the simple locks, and then cast another charm that released her warding. Hermione was smart, she didn't rely on just one type of security, and, naturally, she gave the counter charms to both Harry and Ron for " _just in cases_ ", which Harry was desperately hoping he was abusing right now.

The door unlatched and Harry delicately pushed it open, the apartment was dark. "Hermione?" he beckoned again, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The moon light poured in through the windows, casting a blue tin over the room. Everything looked in place. "Lumos," Harry muttered, and white glow lite the room around him. "Hermione?" Harry whispered to himself. The shower wasn't running, that had been Harry first hope, that she simply couldn't hear him but the overwhelming silence snubbed that. Harry slowly walked down the hallway to her bedroom, maybe she was just passed out. Harry pushed open Hermione's bedroom door to find an empty bed, and fear for his best friend filled his stomach.

A crack broke Harry from his trance. He tiptoed towards the living room wand ready to blast the intruder away. "Harry!" Harry dropped his wand as Ron's voice rang through the empty flat, and his mate rounded the corner.

"Harry, mate,we found Malfoy's Galleon," Ron's face looked drained as the same realization dawned on him, that Hermione wasn't home and Malfoy had disappeared. "Do you think they've got Hermione too?"

Harry locked his jaw. That was exactly what Harry had been suspecting since Hermione didn't show up up in the woods. "Send a Patronus, we need everyone on this now."

* * *

Wet stone and the smell of mildew teased at the edge of her senses as Hermione slowly began to wake. She opened her eyes, but darkness seemed to surround her still. She blinked again hoping to clear her vision. There seemed to be a small glow coming from behind her as her eyes adjusted. She could feel the cold rocky floor beneath her frame. Hermione shifted, her body was aching and she could taste blood on her lips. She groaned softly. This time, however, her captors didn't feel the need to bind her. She slowly sat up, but took a sharp breath as a stabbing pain ruptured through her rib cage. She gritted her teeth and shifted her knees and palms under herself. She looked around her hoping to find Draco, instead she found herself alone in a small dungeon cell, far more crude than the ones on at the Malfoy Manor. This cell looked as if it had been carved out during the middle ages, the stone walls and floors were rough and dank. She crawled to the iron bars scraping her skin against the rough ground and looked down the hallway, there was a torch on the wall to her left barely illuminating the hallway. She couldn't hear anything or anyone. "Draco?" she called delicately but silence was her only answer. Hermione bit her lip, looking around trying to figure out her next move. A loud bang rang from down the hallway and then loud foot falls moved towards her.

"I told you this was a terrible idea," a mans voice echoed down the halway, "but no, you wanted to impress Yaxley, and now we're in a pile of shit."

"I'm just trying to ensure that we land in his favor," a female's voice responded, clearly irritated with her companion. "And while he is not happy that we went with Lucius, he does know that we brought them here." The pair stopped just in front of Hermione's cell and Hermione recognized them, the Carrow twins. Alecto smiled sadistically. "Notice that Lucius is the one getting curcioed, not us?"

"Give me a wand and I'll take crucio you," Hermione spat back, though she was thoroughly aware that in her state she was at a clear disadvantage.

"Oh, look, Amycus, the wittle Mudblood thinks she's dangerous," Alecto cooed at her mockingly. "Our blood, and therefore our magic, is far superior to yours, you stupid twat. I would destroy you before you could even get the words out of your mouth."

Amycus chuckled as he watched his sister toy with their captive. "You'll get your chance, Alecto. Remember, we have to keep her alive until he says so."

Alecto rolled her eyes. "You should call him Master."

A very annoyed Amycus chuffed back at his sister. "Why? He's not Voldemort."

"Once the plan falls into place he will be more powerful than Voldemort. The difference was that Voldemort was insane and that led to his demise. _Our_ master has a clear and precise plan and has the sanity and experience to make it happen."

"Shut up, Alecto." Amycus grabbed a key from his pocket and unlocked the steel doors. "Now, cover me."

Amycus shuffled into the cell, grabbed Hermione roughly by the arm and threw her over his shoulder, ignoring the screams of pain as he manhandled her already broken rib cage. He carried Hermione out of the cell and down the long hallway, Alecto's wand trained on Hermione the entire way. They went through the dungeon door into an even bigger hallway. The walls and floors here, however, were smooth and well maintained. They continued down that hallway a bit, then turned down another for a little ways more until Amycus stopped in front of a set of wooden doors and waited for Alecto to open them before continuing in to a much larger warmer room. Hermione barely got a chance to look around before she was slammed down. A roaring pain spread through her abdomen as the broken ribs shifted with her collision and thrumming pain reverberated around her skull when it smashed into to the table. Her breath escaped her again as she roared out in pain. She could hear a commotion and yelling behind her but the pain overwhelmed her senses beyond recognition. Hermione coughed and rolled to her side, her eyes blurry with pain but she could still make out a flash of blonde. "Draco?" She half whispered, half choked.

* * *

Draco awoke with a start, his vision blurred. He blinked a few times before the room before him became painfully clear. He was sitting in a rich velvet chair with a long, handsome table in front of him and on the opposite side of him sat Yaxley. Draco never really considered the man a threat, he was merely the Ministry puppet while Voldemort was in control. "Ah, Yaxley, how nice it is to see you again," Draco drawled. "Tell me, how many charms did it take to repair your arsehole when Voldemort died?"

Yaxely smirked in to his palm. "Glad to see you're still proud enough to make quips, Draco." He let his hand drop to the smooth surface of the table. "Though still not wise enough to know when to keep them to yourself, I see."

Draco chuffed, he was keenly aware that he was surrounded by armed wizards. Dolohov and Rookwood stood to either side of him, so that accounted for two of the three escapees from Azkaban. He saw Nott (who was the third to escapee) sitting at the far end of the table next to Lucius, who both looked as if they had just been crucioed to near insanity. Draco smiled to himself, was it possible that this was an unsanctioned mission and that was why Lucius had been punished? Regardless if they were punished or not, Draco knew he was in no position to be mouthing off, but to relent to fear would only put himself and Hermione in trouble. His heart stopped for half a beat, Hermione was nowhere in the room. He kept his cool, however, trying to pretend that he had not noticed her absence. They did not need any more weapons. "Ah, well, my father tried to beat tact in to me, but failed miserably."

Yaxely cocked an eyebrow at him. "It wasn't the only thing that he failed miserably at. It seems that he forgot to teach you about family duty as well."

Draco cursed to himself internally, he knew being with Hermione put a target on her back. "Ah well, every good boy likes a dirty girl, I suppose." Draco shrugged, maybe he could throw them off the trail.

"Draco, please, we're not fools." Yaxely rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed with him. "Your father made it very clear how you threatened and begged for him to spare the girl." A slow grin spread across his face. "We know she's the weakness."

Draco felt his body clench, he didn't a ton of options here. He could comply and keep Hermione out of immediate danger or put her on the line and stop her from suffering in the future. Draco knew which one Hermione would choose, in a heartbeat without thinking, but Draco was selfish. "What you would want from me."

Yaxely smiled deviously. "I'm so pleased that it didn't take long to flip you, Draco. I'm a rather busy man these days, and torturing a mudblood cuts in to precious time that I just don't have." He stood up, slowly pressing his hands in to the table. "You see, Draco, we have been working long term to destabilize the Ministry, first with the random murders, then the Azkaban escape. We're slowly whittling down the public's faith in them, one uncaught dangerous murder at a time. I believe that we are to a point where we could start placing people within the system so that when it does fall, they can swiftly take over." Yaxely began to slowly pace the length of the table. "The problem being all of _our_ names have been ruined by the war, so we tried to recruit young, charismatic purebloods who are in good standing with the ministry."

Draco's jaw clenched, _Theo._

"It seems though that our candidate turned on us." Yaxely glared at Nott, but continued, "so this left me in a conundrum. I need someone who has built himself back into public eye, who seems to have turned and seems to desire change. Someone with a name that carries, but someone I can easily control." Yaxely stopped at the far end of the table, and watched the fireplace for moment, "and for a moment I must admit, I was lost to whom that maybe." He turned back to Draco, "you were not an option because I thought that your, _disease_ would taint your public standing, but then you started dating the Mudblood. You see, now with is the public swooning over your _contamination_ with the Mudblood, that puts you in good standing, and with me holding _her,_ I control _you_." An evil smile curled on to the Yaxley's face.

Draco narrowed his eyes. "You want me to be your puppet?"

The doors to the room swung open suddenly, catching Draco by surprise. He whipped his head around to find Amycus with Hermione slung over his shoulder, but before Draco could say or do anything, the man slammed her down on the table with a force the echoed through the room. Draco leapt to his feet, where promptly Dolohov and Rookwood grabbed his arms to hold him back. "Let me go!" He roared as he fought against their strength. Draco continued to curse and yell at the top of his lungs, trying desperately to get to Hermione, who was now craning her body to see him.

"Draco?"

The word hit Draco like a freight train, never had his own name caused him so much grief. Hermione's body went limp against the table. "Let him go," and like that Draco rushed to Hermione's side. He leaned over the table where she lay unconscious. He brushed some stray hair out of her face, scratches covered the left side of her face as if she had scraped it against the stone, yet somehow, among the dried blood and bruises, she had a frail beauty about her. Draco rubbed his thumb over her cheek as he fought back the fear and anger that wanted to overcome him. Footsteps approached the two of them and Yaxley bent over the table to catch Draco's eyes.

"Yes," Yaxely said "with _her,_ I control _you_." An evil smile curled on to the Yaxley's face.

* * *

Kingsly had just spent the last half hour screaming at Harry, as if he had not already known how bad it was that Hermione and Draco were missing with the likelihood being that Death Eaters had them. His temper was in short supply as he flung open the double doors to the Auror department. "What do we know?!" He roared. The buzzing office hesitated for a minute as worried faces looked up at him.

Ron jogged up to Harry. "Well, they figured out that the key took us to Scotland, not far from Hogsmead, in fact. The search party did find a small cabin with a basement that had clearly had an expansion charm on it. That's where they found the Galleon and this," Ron held up a dainty gold bracelet. "It's Hermione's, I gave it to her for her birthday last year."

Harry had a small hope that Hermione was simply visiting her parents that night or was out on the town with Luna, but as Ron held up the bracelet, all his hope came crashing down. There was no dispute now, Hermione had been taken, but he pushed down those feelings, that was not what Hermione needed right now. "Did you find anything else?"

"Well, Jamison says he found only two other footprints in the cabin itself, apparently they didn't bother to wash their feet before the came in. By the size we think they're men, and by the style we're thinking upper class. We did get some prints, but it'll take a few days before we get the results from that back from the muggles." Ron paused. "The other good thing is that there was not significant pools of blood, a few spatters here and there, but no pooling. So they're most likely still alive. They seemed to have left in a hurry, which means we barely missed them."

Harry was becoming annoyed. "Yes, all of this is important information but none of it has suggested where they are now."

Ron shook his head. "We've got nothing on that, mate. How ever they got out of there was untraceable to us."

Harry took a deep breath, this was what made wizarding cases so much harder than muggles. Wizards could just disappear to wherever they wanted, muggles had to physically remove themselves which meant they left trails. Harry nodded. "Okay then, start with Nott. Maybe his father is held up in some old abandoned residence somewhere. I'm going to go to the Malfoy Manor to talk to Narcissa, see if anyone has contacted her on Malfoy's behalf." Harry pushed past Ron to the appriration point in the Auror's office. Ron followed close behind. "Ron, what are you doing?" He asked over his shoulder.

"I'm coming, isn't it obvious?"

Harry stopped and turned to Ron. "I need you here." Ron locked his jaw and Harry could tell he wasn't happy with the idea. "I need you here to run things while I'm gone, you're the only person I trust to find her," he said almost under his breath.

Ron face relaxed, "Oh...yea, well, you still need to take someone with you. It's dangerous to go alone."

Harry looked over Ron's shoulder, Jamison was approaching them. "Jamison, you're with me," Harry demanded gruffly.

Jamison looked a bit surprised before he nodded. "'Ere are those files you wanted."

He handed Ron some papers and Ron nodded, then Jamison looked back to Harry. "Where we goin', boss?"

Harry grimaced. "The Malfoy Manor," Harry grumbled under his breath as he apparated away, it was only a moment after that Harry appeared outside the Malfoy gates, then Jamison appeared beside him. "Okay, we're trying not to alarm Ms. Malfoy, we only want to divulge necessary information, just in case..." Harry trailed off, he truly wanted to believe that Narcissa Malfoy had turned a new leaf and this wasn't some elaborate ruse to get Hermione vulnerable, but at this point in the investigation anything was a possibility.

A pop surprised Harry. "Good day, sirs, how may Tobby help you?" The small elf bowed, greeting them kindly.

"We're here on the behalf of the ministry and we wish to speak Ms. Malfoy," Harry replied confidently.

There was a hint of trepidation in the elves eyes, surely this was something that he had heard before. "May Tobby know the nature of this visit?"

"Jus' would like to speak to the lady 'ouse," Jamison chimed in.

Tobby nodded slowly, his eyes weary, but with a flick of his wrists the wrought iron gates swung open slowly and he lead Harry and Jamison down the long bricked path to the manor. A sick feeling came over Harry, every time he entered the Malfoy Manor from this direction nasty flashbacks of Hermione's torture filled his memories. He could hear her screams in the back of his mind, and a dark voice wondered if she were screaming in pain now, or if she had finally fallen silent.

Tobby lead them up the stairs to the large double doors, through them, in to a massive foyer lined with fireplaces, through a gallery that then led in to the main part of the house and immediately off to the right, pushing through another set of double door, into a warmly lit sitting room where Narcissa Malfoy sat carefully perched on the end of a red velvet high back chair.

Narcissa Malfoy smiled slowly stood and greeted the men. "Harry, darling, I'm glad to have come to visit, I must say a bit unexpected, but who hasn't time for the boy who lived. Twice." She smirked, a smirk that reminded Harry uncannily of Draco.

Harry sighed, he hoped that there was no way she was involved in this, he hated the idea of arresting the woman who had once saved his life and, in turn, saved the wizarding world. "I'm afraid we're here on more official business, Narcissa."

Narcissa's smirk fell, "Is everything alright?"

"'Fraid not, ma'am," Jamison spoke up, "we're 'bout 'ur son, 'e seems to be missin'."

Narcissa's brow furrowed. "I just saw him last night, he and Hermione we're going out on a date. How do you know he's missing?" Her voice becoming more and more concerned.

Harry grimaced. "You're sure he was going out with Hermione?"

Narcissa nodded. "I just assumed when he didn't return before I went to bed that he was spending the night at her flat again."

Harry nodded. "Are you sure he didn't come home at all?"

Narcissa began to knead her hands, "I must admit, I usually retire to my quarters around nine in the evening, so if he came home any later then that I would not have known." She thought for a moment. "Tobby, Bobby, Nibsy, Dolly, Minny, and Diggly." Six pops echoed through the room and six elves stood in front of Narcissa. "Did any of you see Draco come in last night?" Five of the six elves shook their heads furiously, denying seeing anything of Draco. "Nibsy?" Narcissa asked.

Nibsy trembled. "Nibsy can not say, ma'am. Nibsy has been ordered not to tell."

Narcissa's eyes narrowed. "Nibsy, I am the matriarch of this family, Draco is my son, thus my orders supersede his."

Nibsy violently shook his head. "Nibsy's orders outrank madam's."

A look of confusion spread over Narcissa face, "Nibsy, that's not possible."

"what do you mean?" Harry asked, confused by the conversation.

Narcissa looked at Harry, her face draining of color. "Only the living patriarch superseded's me."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Hey loves! I hope your Holidays have been wonderful! Thank you for you reviews! I'm sorry I keep leaving you on cliffs, I know I hate them too, but it is just where the chapters feel right to end. Ugh please don't hate me! So this is the last full chapter I have completed, I'm almost done with 31 so there will be a chapter next week for sure! After that it may get spotty, but I'm hoping to wrap this up within the next two chapters, maaaayyyybe three. We'll see.**

 **Chapter 30**

Draco glared as Alecto dropped Hermione's hair in to the Polyjuice potions. Polyjuice was a convenient way to impersonate someone, it was also, however, easy enough to catch as well.

Alecto smirked at Draco. "Always thought you were cute, you know." She laughed, quickly chugging the potion down, and slowly her hair lengthened, curled, and darkened. Her body thinned and the skin warmed to a warm olive color from a milky pale . Draco felt sick as Hermione stood in front of him. "And now I get to be your girlfriend," Alecto taunted evilly. "I'm not surprised you fell for the little mudblood," Alecto said as she peeled the little red dress Hermione was wearing off of her still limp body, with no care who stood around to see her state of undress. "She does have a nice little body on her."

Draco took off his robes and threw them over Hermione so that she was covered and had some article of warmth when she awoke. He brushed some of Hermione's hair out of her face, hoping that one day she would forgive him for leaving her here, on the table, in the Death Eaters headquarters, surrounded by enemies. He grimaced and kissed her softly on the forehead. Then turned to find the impostor Hermione slipping into the dress she had just taken, smiling happily.

"Ready, Drakey?" Alecto chimed.

"Never call me that," Draco growled. "For fuck's sake, at least try to act like Hermione, you half wit."

"But Drakey," the impostor purred, walking her fingers up Draco's chest, "it's such a cute nickname, and every couple has pet names."

Draco grabbed her hand and threw it away from him. "We do not have pet names, and if you _ever_ touch me again in that manner, I _will_ hex you in to the next century and blow this entire operation," Draco snarled.

Alecto huffed. "Fine," she stepped back. "After you, _Draco,"_ she bowed.

Draco gave Hermione one last glance and strode out the door. _Fuck._

* * *

Harry stood in front of the Malfoy mausoleum, looking up at it with a queasy feeling. Having all your dead relatives buried in your own personal family mausoleum on your property seemed morbid and just a bit creepy to Harry. "All your family is in here?" He asked Narcissa as she slowly pushed open the door.

"Oh no," Narcissa gave a nonchalant wave. "Just the firstborn male heirs, the rest are buried in the cemetery behind the mausoleum. It's actually a wizarding family tradition to keep the direct male heirs together, supposedly it helps carry the magic throughout the family line." She sighed as they walked down the long marble hallway to Lucius' chamber. "It's all pureblood lore though, just another way to remind others that we have money and prowess." She stopped towards the end, and gestured towards Lucius' chamber. "Here."

Harry nodded, looking hesitantly at the chamber, just below it a gold plaque read _Lucius Abraxas Malfoy 1953-2002._ Harry wasn't sure how he was going to go about this, grave digging was not something he regularly did. "Homenum revelio," Harry muttered under his breath. The tip of his wand glowed for a brief moment, but he couldn't feel a presence. He looked over his shoulder at Jamison and shook his head.

"That work on the deceased?" Jameison asked curiously.

Harry knitted his brow and shifted to the the chamber next to Lucius', the plaque read, _Abraxas Septimus Malfoy, 1937-1996._ "Er, is Abraxas here?" He asked Narcissa, who stood off the the left of him.

Narcissa nodded. "Yes, that I know."

Harry nodded and cast the spell once more, this time feeling the heaviness in his wand. He turned to Jamison. "So unless Abraxas is still alive in there it does work on corpses."

"I wouldn't put it past Abraxas, you thought Lucius was disagreeable, his father put him shame." Narcissa reminisced, then the realization seemed to hit her. "So, Lucius isn't in there?" Her jaw tightening at the thought.

Harry felt pity for the woman, she had finally been free of her husband and to now find that he still lived must have been terrifying. "I think I'd like to take a look, just to be sure."

Narcissa nodded, and stepped up to the chamber, and started muttering under her breath. "There was an issue with grave robbing in the 1800's, and ever since then the chambers are warded once their sealed."

Harry cringed slightly, he was only joking to himself earlier about the grave robbing. This was certainly not the way he thought this investigation would be going, but he carefully broke the seal, and removed the marble slab to the chamber with Jamison's help. A dark mahogany casket sat just inside the chamber, and with more spell work, he and Jamieson lowered the casket on to the ground. Harry turned to Narcissa again. "If you would like to step out, we shouldn't need anymore assistance." He was not sure how the widow would feel about upsetting her husbands final resting place. Or so Harry hoped it would be his final resting place.

Narcissa shook her head. "No, I want to see," she said a firmness in her voice.

Harry sighed nervously. "Er, uh, okay then." Harry rounded the coffin and undid the latches, slowly lifting the lid only to find it empty. He looked across the casket to Narcissa, who was slowly walking to the open side.

A heavy sigh crossed her lips as she stared at the empty coffin. "Damn it, Lucius," she said under her breath again, an irritated look on her face. "He was in there when he had the funeral, it wasn't an open casket because Azkaban had been cruel to him, but I made sure he was in there before closed it."

Harry looked at the woman closing the lid slowly. "Unfortunately, there are many convincing ways to fake your death in the magical world. It's not the first time I've heard of it, first time I've seen it, however." He looked waved his wand and levitated the empty casket back into its chamber. "Narcissa, given the circumstances, I feel it would be best if we moved you into a safe house."

Narcissa eyed him carefully. "What about Draco and the elves?"

"The elves can go with you and we will keep you updated if we find anything on Draco, but we need to get you to some place safe as soon as possible. We can wait for you to gather somethings, but you must be quick about it," Harry pressed.

Narcissa nodded. "Well, back to the manor then, I suppose. It shouldn't take me long with the elves help." She started walking to the entrance of the mausoleum.

"Jamison, put the marble back and reseal it. I don't want anything to look out of place. I'm going to take her back. Come find us when you're done." Jamieson nodded and turned to the slab of marble as Harry trotted after Narcissa.

* * *

Draco quickly stepped out of the fireplace in the foyer of the Manor. He hoped he had at least a few minutes before the Death Eaters realized that Alecto would need to alter the Malfoy wards before she could easily floo to the manor. She may look like Hermione but the wards still wouldn't let in anyone without permission. Sadly, it would only be a few minutes because Lucius was capable of altering the wards, and it wouldn't take him long to do so. "Mother!" He called frantically, running through the foyer, into the gallery, then the drawing room. "Mother!" he roared anxiously.

"Draco?!"

Draco spun around quickly to find his mother just entering the room behind him. "Mother!" he exclaimed. He ran over to her and wrapped her in a tight hug, apparating her to her room before she could get a word in edgewise. "I need you to quickly pack your things and get to some place safe." Draco let her go to summon her luggage.

Narcissa looked at Draco. "Draco," she gasped, "Harry Potter is here! He's going to take me to a safe house. Draco, you're father is still alive!"

Draco just about dropped his wand. "How did you find out?!"

It was his mother's turn to look shocked. "How did you know?!"

Draco huffed. "It doesn't matter. We need to get you out of the here now." He started throwing things into luggage, every article of clothing he could find was being tossed into trunks and bags.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy! Tell me this instant!" Narcissa demanded dangerously.

Draco threw the another set of robes into the floating trunk behind him and turned on a dime. "Mother," he said pointedly, "I need you to trust me, just go. Let Potter take you to the safe house then ask questions."

His mother locked her jaw, but with a flick of her wand all her toiletries were flying across the room in to the last open trunk.

"Minny," Draco roared, there was a small pop to his left and, before she even got a chance to greet Draco, he started barking orders. "Finish packing for my mother then take all her things downstairs," he said, crossing the room and wrapping an arm around his mother again before apparating back to the foyer, where a very confused Potter stood.

"Malfoy?" Harry looked stunned. "Where the hell have you been and where's Hermione?!" Harry looked like he was about to blow a fuse.

Before Draco could say anything, the only open floo erupted in green flames and the impostor stepped through. Draco instinctively pulled his mother closer to himself, almost tucking her behind him, before he realized this is not how he should be reacting to his supposed girlfriend. "I took Hermione to the chateau we have in France." He looked back at Potter, who was now looking suspiciously at Draco, then back to Hermione. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise such an alarm. I only meant to surprise Hermione with a well earned mini vacation." Draco let go of his mother and crossed the room to Alecto and swung an arm around her shoulders. "I just got in when mother told me that you were taking her to the ministry."

Narcissa looked at Draco for a long moment. "Yes," she said calmly. "Hermione, darling, it's wonderful to know you are safe, we were so concerned for you two."

Draco thanked Merlin that his mother was playing along. It would make this far easier. Now all he had to do was convince Potter to play too, so they could all three trick Alecto. Hopefully Potter knew Hermione as well as he thought he did. "I'm sorry that we didn't send an owl or anything, there was a flying tour of Paris that we wanted to catch, and just made it for, and well, by the time that was over, it was late and it just slipped our minds."

Potter eyed Draco, then looked to Hermione who was happily cuddling into Draco's chest at this point. "How was the tour? See a lot of good sights?" He asked in a convincing enough voice that Alecto didn't catch on.

"Oh, just wonderful. We saw the Eiffel tower and that was just soooo romantic," she hummed.

Draco could see the confirmation in Harry's eyes. "You always said you wanted to see that." Harry smiled. "I'm so glad you got to go on a vacation, you have been working so hard lately."

"Yes," she purred again, "Draco does love to spoil me. But what's this I hear about a the ministry?"

Draco looked to Potter, the ball now in his court, "We were concerned for her safety after you two disappeared, feared it was copycat murderer."

"Oh! Well, clearly we're fine! There's no need for a to take her to the ministry, Narcissa is perfectly safe here!" Hermione said with a sickening sweetness.

Harry looked back to Draco briefly. "Yeah, well, there's paperwork that needs to be filled out after the missing persons report that we submitted. We have to have her sign waivers and such acknowledging that she's ceasing the investigation. You know, regular bureaucratic bull." Harry mussed his hair a bit.

Hermione looked skeptical for a moment, but must have decided against fighting with an auror. "Okay, well, hopefully it won't take to long," Hermione flashed another disgusting smile.

"Can't say," Harry shrugged. "You know how the ministry is." He half chuckled. "Anyways, Mrs. Malfoy." Harry gestured for her to step in to the floo.

When the green flames consumed his mother, Draco felt a nervousness lift from him. Harry gave Draco a reassuring nod before he, too, stepped into the floo and was gone with a green flash. When the two were gone Draco pushed the impostor Hermione away from him as quickly as he could.

"What, Draco? Are you really so disgusted with me?" Alecto sneered. "I mean, I look like her, smell like her, sound like her, and yet you're treating me like I have Dragon pox."

Draco, however, refused to give her the time of the day. He needed to come up with a plan to tell Potter about the Death Eaters plot without the impostor knowing.

* * *

Harry stepped in to the Atrium of the Ministry. If Narcissa was scared she wasn't showing it. "Ms. Malfoy, if you'll follow me, we're going to head to the Aurors department," his voice brisk. Narcissa simply nodded, and holding her head high, she followed him to the lift. As they stepped on to the lift a few people gave Harry a curious look, not sure why he was accompanying a Malfoy anywhere. He just shook his head, hoping that the gesture would be enough to suppress any ministry gossip. When the lift finally made it to the second floor, Narcissa and himself were the only two left, yet she had not said a word to him since they had left the manor. He gestured for her to exit the elevator, and then led her down hallways to his department and then swiftly in to his office.

"Now, may I please ask, what just happened?" Narcissa asked smoothy as she sat down in a chair across from Harry's desk.

Harry moved around his desk to see if there had been any letters or notes left for him that may allude to what was going on with Draco and Hermione. "Well, Ms. Malfoy, your son and I concocted a plan about two weeks ago after Theo Nott was approached by his father to join an underground death eater rebellion." Harry looked up at the woman, her face unwavering in its composure, so he continued. "We had intended that he would be approached by Nott and pledge his loyalty to the rebellion, hoping that they would take him back to the headquarters where he would use the portkey galleon and the aurors would be able to catch the suspects." Harry balled his fist in frustration. "Something, however, has gone wrong. Hermione is now missing, and someone is clearly impersonating her."

Narcissa nodded. "I thought Hermione was acting strange, but how can you be sure?" She wondered.

"Well your son was very clever. You see, Hermione hates flying, always has. So that was Draco's first clue. The next clue was when I asked her about the sights, she said she really liked seeing the Eiffel Tower, which Hermione has already seen and thinks is rather dull after you've seen it once. Hermione's favorite thing in Paris is the Louvre. Lastly, Hermione's been to Paris several times, so when I implied that she's never been, she would have corrected me. So that is not Hermione, someone is pretending to be Hermione, which means that someone is holding the real Hermione against her will." Harry looked up at Narcissa, who was now looking more upset.

"What do we do, Mr. Potter? My son and your friend are in trouble." She wrung a handkerchief nervously in her hands.

This must have been what a very upset Narcissa looked like, Harry thought to himself. "We're going to figure that out." Harry said as confidently as he could, though he was completely at a loss.

* * *

Hermione's skin shivered and a damp coldness woke her once again. She opened her eyes in the dank dark cell and sighed, praying that, somehow, this was just the most life-like nightmare she had ever had. She closed her eyes again and bit down on the inside of her lip, hoping the pain would wake her and that she had simply kicked off the covers of her bed. It did not rouse her, however. This was a real coldness seeping into her bones and real stone floors digging in to her exposed skin.

She opened her eyes again, a renewed horror washed over her as she realized that she was lying on the ground in nothing but her lacy undergarments. Her red dress had been stripped off her. She scrambled up, steadying herself as she stood. Looking around, there seemed to be a rumpled pile of blankets next to the cell door. She traipsed over quietly and bent down to pick up the blanket, but was immediately surprised by its softness and weight. Typically, jailers didn't give captive nice things, as she drew it up, however, she realized this was not a blanket but robes, and by that fabric and weight, expensive robes.

Hermione's eyes welled with tears, she held it to her nose and Draco's musky scent filled her insides. She buried her face in the robes, trying to fight back outright sobs. _If Draco wasn't wearing his robes, what was he wearing? Where was he? Was he.. no,_ she thought she mustn't let her emotions get the best of her. No one ever escaped by sobbing. She wrapped the robes around herself, instantly her skin thanked her, she then stepped up to the bars and peered into the hallway, but there was nothing there except a lone torch on the wall, giving off a orange glow into her cell. She listened hard, but the only sounds were of rodents scurrying in the cells around her.

She needed to figure out a way to get out of this cell. She padded over to the lock on the cell, it was most likely a magical lock. She took a deep breath, if it was a simple charm a wandless Alohamora might work, but anything more complicated than that and she...Well, she knew what that meant. She focused her mind on her magical core, she felt it humming beneath her skin like a sudden warmth bubbling from her chest cavity. She then focused on the lock, imagining it popping open with ease, and the humming buzzed excitedly as it moved through her chest and down her shoulder into her arms and sat vibrating at her fingertips. "Alohamora," she breathed, and the vibrating jetted out of her fingertips and the lock clanked against to metal bars.

Hermione opened her eyes in excitement, but it died as she looked down on the lock still very much in tact. She pulled down on the lock just the make sure that it had not sprung, and she tried desperately to not let despair overwhelm her. Instead, she took a deep breath and tried again.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Draco took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It had been a few days since he had brought Alecto back to the manor, and she refused to leave him alone. If he left a room she left the room, If he went outside for a stroll in the garden she was followed. The woman even insisted that she sleep with Draco. That, however, is where he firmly drew the line. He refused to have anyone except the actual Hermione in his bed. So she transfigured the lounger to a small bed for herself on the opposite side of the room. He was sure, if this kept up much longer, Draco himself would murder her and everyone else in the rebellion because Alecto had driven him mad.

It just so happened that this was the same weekend that Portia Zabini had planned for her annual birthday vacation in Venice. Much to Draco's relief, Portia had invited his mother to join her this year. Draco had never been so grateful for Blaise's mother's frivolous trips and spending habits. If that was by Portia's own intentions or some persuasive comment from his mother, Draco did not know or care. Draco looked up from his breakfast at the impostor, oh the cruel horrible things he wanted to do to that woman. She looked up from her food and gave Draco a dry smirk, and Draco growled at her in pure hatred.

She looked like she was about to say something when the crack of a house elf interrupted her. Bobby trotted over to Draco and placed the morning's issue of the Daily Prophet on the table beside his silverware and then delivered Alecto her own Prophet. "Will there be anything else you need?" Bobby chirped nervously.

"No, thank you," Draco's voice was brusk, he was trying to keep conversation to an absolute minimum with Alecto here. He stabbed at his eggs and sausage angrily and, with a pop, Bobby was gone.

Whatever Alecto had been about to say was now gone as she was looking over the front page of the Prophet, an evil smile growing on her face. The sight made Draco's stomach turn, never had Hermione looked so cruel. "Looks like we'll be heading in to town today Draco," Hermione's voice purred but Alecto's words said.

Draco narrowed his eyes and looked down at the paper beside him, bold letters written across the top, **Azkaban Escapees Attack!** Just below the title, in a only slightly smaller text, was " _What is the Ministry Doing About it?"_ Draco ground his teeth, he knew this attack would be coming and he had been trying desperately to get a message to Potter, but Alecto had sent away all the owls and cast a ward to prevent any patronus from entering or leaving the premises, not that Draco could produce a patronus anyhow, but she was being annoyingly thorough. He looked up from the paper at Alecto, a smug look on Hermione's features.

"You ready to play puppet, Drakey?" Her voice curled around the words like an eel.

* * *

The Auror's department had exploded with frantic action, people left and right were running up to Harry, getting instructions on what to do next. The explosion in Diagon Alley at the Muggle's Merch shop had rocked the ministry. There had been no tip offs, signs, or even hints that the Death Eaters were going to attack, and yet, somehow, all three of the Azkaban escapees had been seen at the scene of the crime and none of them had been caught.

Harry growled in frustration as he slammed to door to his office. A fit of rage overtook him as he roared in frustration, knocking things off his desk. He knew something was wrong, he knew that was not Hermione and, from the look on Draco's face, he knew it was someone dangerous. He slammed his fists on the desk, which meant someone far more dangerous had Hermione.

Harry had been desperately been trying to get a hold of Draco, he had sent owls, patronus, he even tried the floo. The owls came back, letters still attached, patronus went and never came back, and the floo had been cut off. In a last ditch attempt, Harry tried calling Hermione's cell, hoping that it had been left at the Manor, but the call went straight to voicemail.

There was a knock at Harry's door. "WHAT?!" He bellowed as he spun around to see who wanted him now, but his heart fell as he saw his poor assistant timidly pushing open the door.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Kingsley has called for a press briefing and would like you there to give updates on this morning's attack," her voice shaking slightly.

Harry slumped. "I'm sorry, Meaghan, I shouldn't have yelled liked that." She had been working for Harry for several years by now, and never had he spoken to her like that. She was a true Hufflepuff, always trying to please everyone and working diligently until the work was done. Harry was so fortunate to have such a loyal, hard-working secretary.

"It's fine, Mr. Potter, I understand, but you need to leave now if you're going to make it to the press briefing," she warned kindly.

Harry nodded and passed her as he exited his office. He wasn't sure what he was going to say about the attack, they had very little information other than it happened and who did it. Harry set his jaw, he was sure that Kingsley was going to hang him out to dry, after all, it was his department. Harry finally made it down to the Atrium, where the press briefings were held. Kingsley stood in front of the Atrium sculpture, a small podium off to the side and a group of reporters stood a few feet back snapping pictures and scribbling things down even though the briefing had yet to begin. Kingsley looked frustrated and irritated when he spotted Harry.

Harry strode across the Atrium and shook Kingsley's hand. Harry and Kingsley decided a long time ago that whenever they addressed the press they made a good show of working together. "Kingsley," Harry greeted, his voice gruff.

Kingsley shook Harry's hand back. "It's going to be a rough one today, Harry." His voice as frustrated and strained as he appeared.

Harry nodded his head and set his jaw, that was basically a " _Hey, I'm about to feed you to the hounds"  
_ if Harry ever heard it. Kingsley let go and the two men walked up to the podium. Kingsley took his place just behind it and Harry stood to his right. A barrage of flashing ensued for a few moments and the two men stood silently letting the press get their photos.

"As you have all heard," Kingsley broke the silence and the room fell quiet with the sound of his voice, "there was an attack on a business in Diagon Alley early this morning. This business was a owned by a muggleborn, who sold common muggle items. Both the owner and the employee who were attending the store today were killed in the attack, along with two patrons." Kingsley paused to let the reports take notes, and in a minute or two, he proceeded, his voice grave. "My fellow wizards and witches, when Mr. Potter destroyed Voldemort, he took down with him generations of prejudice against people born to muggle families, and since that day, we, as a society, have been trying to heal old wounds and pave a way for a new bright future, where a Witch or Wizard is not judged but their partentage, but by they themselves, and while we have come a long way since the second wizarding war, it is still clear that we still have a long way to go. But, I plead with you, do not let terrorists like this poison your hearts, because that's when they win. We, here at the ministry, are working diligently to find the suspects and are doing our best to thwart any future attacks, but we need your help. If you are approached by someone, if you hear or see something, please contact the Auror department immediately. I will now hand it over to Mr. Potter who is the Head of the Auror department." Kingsley nodded, stepped back, and let Harry take his place.

Harry took a deep breath and stepped up to the Podium, looking at the sea of faces before him, a look of concern on almost all of them. "Thank you, Minster," he started, there were a few more flashes. "Today at 9:34 this morning, three Azkaban escapees Augustus Rookwood, Antonin Dolohov, Theodore Nott Sr., attacked Muggles Merch, owned by Justin Finch-Fletchley." Harry paused for moment. "He and Mary Raute, Steven Brown, and Crystal Creevy, were murdered in the attack. The assailants apparated into Diagon Alley, just in front of the store, casting a combination of Confringo Curse and the killing curse. This combination ensured the explosion of the building and murder of all of those inside. Shortly after the attack, they apparated away from the scene to an unknown location." Hands shot up among the crowds of reporters. "I'll take questions after I'm done." Harry continued, "we are currently working on the whereabouts of the assailants, so please if you hear or see anything either come to the Auror department, or send us an owl." Harry scanned the room, but a flash of platinum hair caught his eye, and he saw Malfoy standing at the very back of the crowd watching him very carefully, Hermione standing beside him, smiling up at Harry. Harry's heart clenched, was it possible this was the real Hermione again? Another camera flash brought his attention back to the herd of reporters. "I'll now take questions."

The room exploded with arms and shouting, people all over were trying to get Harry's attention, and so Harry started the arduous task of answering the questions he could with explanations that were both informative yet not compromising to the case, something that he had become very adept at over the years. He had made it through half a dozen questions when noticed that Malfoy had moved closer to the podium and now stood in the middle of the press pool. Harry gave Malfoy a calculating look and was taken aback when Draco raised his own hand.

"Mr. Malfoy," Harry called, watching him with suspicion. It was then that Harry could feel someone on his mind, rustling around in his memories.

"I was just wondering, Mr. Potter," the presence grew stronger in Harry's mind as Malfoy spoke, "how are we supposed to trust you to catch the escapees when they have been on the run for more than six months now and you are nowhere near close to catching them?"

 _An image of a long wooden table appeared in Harry vision, almost as if he were there in the dimly lit room. Yaxley sat across from him, Dolohov, and Rookwood stood on either side and, at the far end of the room, sat Nott and Lucius._ Harry furrowed his brow as his vision cleared and he saw Draco standing before him still. Malfoy's presence hung heavily in his head however. "Mr. Malfoy, I assure you we are doing everything in our power to catch the assailants, but unless you have pertinent information to give us, then please keep your criticisms to yourself."

"Actually, I won't," Malfoy continued. "It seems to me that your department has been sitting around with their wands up their arse while innocent witches and wizards are being murdered, and I, for one, have had enough."

 _A new image came to the forethought of Harry's mind. He was again sitting across from Yaxley when when a loud noise caught his attention on the other side of the table. Alecto and Amycus Carrow came bursting through the doors with a woman slung over Amycus' shoulders and, with a loud thump, she was thrown down on the table. Harry kept up trying to fight back the other wizards as Hermione craned back to look him in the eye._ An angry growl escaped from Harry. "Mr. Malfoy, if it was simple to catch dark witches and wizards they would allow the likes of you to do it. Investigations take time and work, these things don't happen overnight."

Malfoy smirked up at Harry. "Maybe the likes of me is what the department desperately needs, since you have proven to be so ineffective."

 _"You see, Draco, we have been working long term to destabilize the Ministry, first with the random murders, then the Azkaban escape." The image skipped forward a bit in his mind. "You want me to be your puppet?" Harry heard Draco say in his mind. The image skipped again, he was now standing over Hermione, almost cradling her in his arms. Yaxley leaned over the table towards him. "Yes." A cruel smile over Yaxley's face. "With her, I control you."_ Harry glared at Draco. "That's all." Harry left the podium as more yelling and flashing ensued.

* * *

The pool of press descended on Draco.

"Mr. Malfoy, do you plan to speak to the minster about the ineffectiveness of the Auror department?!" someone yelled.

Draco shrugged and a know-it-all grin crossed his face. "I'm not entirely sure the minster is even doing _his_ job well, truth be told."

"Mr. Malfoy!" Someone else exclaimed. "Does this mean you mean to make a bid for the minister's position?!"

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm neither saying here nor there, simply that our leadership has been severely lacking, and I can not be the only one looking for better stronger change in law enforcement. People are afraid to leave their houses once again. Maybe it's time that we put our trust in stronger leadership."

"Do you really think with your family history that such claims are acceptable?!" called another.

"Look, my father made some regrettable choice that my mother and I were forced to abide by. I am not my father, and I have chosen a different path than he did." On cue, the Hermione impostor slipped under his arm and kissed him sweetly on the cheek, it made Draco's skin crawl but he showed no sign of it.

"Miss. Granger!" someone yelled as the flicking of flashes nearly blinded Draco. "How do you feel about Mr. Malfoy's comments?"

Hermione smiled up at Draco before she looked towards the cameras. "While I love Harry dearly as a friend, this is something that I, too, am deeply concerned about. As everyone knows, I, myself, am a Muggleborn, so these things deeply, deeply worry me."

"Would you stand by Mr. Malfoy if he intends to make a bid?!" a wizard called out.

Hermione snuggled closer into Draco's chest. "While I believe Harry and Kingsley have done a good job in their positions, it maybe time for new candidates to take up the job. Fresh, strong nominees who aren't afraid to act."

Draco went in to kiss her on the head but, in the last moment, she tilted her head up and kissed him on the lips, the crowd around them awed in satisfaction while flashes blinded them. Draco looked up. "Now if you please excuse us, I have a lunch date with the most lovely of witches." And with that, he pushed his way through the crowd, the impostor in tow.

Draco stepped out of the floo at the manor and roared in anger. Anger at himself, anger at Alecto, anger at the situation, just anger. The whoosh of flames announced Alecto's arrival at the manor, and Draco spun around. "What in the bloody fuck was that?!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Alecto smirked at him tauntingly. "I thought we did rather well, I mean, the press ate it up. Yaxley will be pleased."

Draco stormed over to her, his face inches from hers. "The fucking kissing me, you dumb twat! What did I fucking tell you?!" He threatened.

Alecto tilted her head, clearly toying with Draco at this point. "What, afraid your pathetic little mudblood will see a picture of us kissing and leave you? Honestly, Draco, you really are better off."

Draco wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around the woman's throat and watch the light leave her eyes, slowly, agonizingly. "I swear to Merlin, Alecto, I will murder you," his voice was low and threatening.

Alecto smiled. "As long as we have that fucking little mudblood, you won't do shit, Draco." She grabbed Draco's groin, squeezing him with enough force that he winced. "I've got you by the balls, so you're playing my game, _not_ yours." She let go and walked off.

The mirror and windows in the room exploded as Draco's magical rage was released. As much as he hated to admit it, he was playing their fucking game until Potter could get his shit together and find the headquarters. Draco rolled his head back, the cold winter's breeze now filtering into the room made his frustrated tears cold on his cheek. _Fuck._


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Hello my Loves! I super hope you guys love this chapters it may be my favorite so far. Lol. We are getting to then end here, and wrapping this thing up! Thank you for sticking with me this long I didn't think this fic would be 30 chapters but here we are! Please enjoy, and let me know what you think! I love you're reviews and input they are sooooooo wonderful!**

 **Chapter 32**

Harry pushed open the doors to the Auror's department again, he had been doing this so often to the point that no one even blinked this time when he came stomping through the door. "Jamison!" Harry roared.

The tall man popped up from a desk. "Sir?" he called back.

"Where are you on those Malfoy properties?!" Harry bellowed back, storming to Ron's office.

"Few possibilities," Jamison responded.

"I want them in my desk ASAP," Harry yelled over his shoulder as threw open Ron's door, to find Ron pouring over a folder. "What do we have on Yaxley?"

Ron's eyes sprung up from his folder. "Yaxley?" Ron questioned.

"Corban Yaxley," Harry confirmed.

Ron stood up and walked to his file cabinet, kneeling down to open the bottom drawer. "Yaxley, Yaaaaaaxleeeeyyyy, aha." Ron pulled out a rather thin looking folder and opened it up. "Not much," he muttered looking at the paperwork. "He was Voldy's minister puppet, wife died of pox, no living relatives," Ron grimaced, "and he's missing." Ron looked up at Harry. "You think he's got something to do with the rebellion?"

Harry frowned, he was hoping there was way more information on Yaxley. "He's running it."

Ron gave Harry a confused look. "Erm, and how do you know that?"

Harry closed the office door and cast a silencing charm around them. "Draco," Harry breathed, "was at the press conference and he used legilimency to show me what happened when he was captured."

"Merlin's beard." Ron sighed. "Good thing you're a miserable occlumens. You think that this will lead us to them?"

Harry nodded. "Hopefully. I needed you start checking Yaxley properties, and pray he didn't stray to far from home."

Ron nodded. "You know what this means, though," Ron said as Harry turned to leave the room. Harry stopped and looked over his shoulder. "If we find him because of Malfoy's tip off, we'll owe the guy."

Harry sighed. "One catastrophe at a time."

* * *

A loud slam awoke Hermione, she had been trying for hours to unlock her cell with no avail. The constant focusing had thoroughly worn her out she curled up in the corner of her cell and tried to sleep. It had been unrestful, painful sleep, but at least sleeping she was able to pass time. She had no idea how long she had been here, food appeared inconsistently, there were no windows to track that passage of days. It was just her, alone, in a dark, dank cell with only the scurrying of rats to keep her company. She heard brisk loud steps approaching her. She slowly, achingly sat up and turned to see the cell bars. A flustered Draco stopped in front of the cell in peered at her. "Draco," Hermione's voice whimpered, as she slowly stood, using the wall to brace her steps.

A broken look came over Draco's face as he reached through the bars to grasp on to her as she approached "Hermione," his voice wavered.

Hermione leaned in to his grip and pressed herself into the bars, they were thick and cold, but this was the warmest she had felt since she had been here. "Draco, where am I?" she asked, her voice trembling as she tried to hold herself together. She had not let fear and despair take her yet, but her strength wavered with his touch.

Draco pressed his face into the bars, he couldn't touch her but for the arm that he had pushed through the bars, but he could smell her, he could feel her presence soothing the raging the monster inside him for days now. "I'm not sure, could be a Malfoy property."

Hermione nodded, the Malfoy estates hadn't been on the radar for possible headquarters since neither Malfoy was suspected of being part of the rebellion. That, however, was when everyone assumed Lucius was dead. "How long have I been here?" She asked with as much control as she could manage.

Draco's jaw locked, clearly contemplating if he should answer her truthfully. "A few days," he whispered.

 _A few days?!_ Hermione felt the panic surfacing, how had so much time passed without her knowing? "Why are you here and not locked in a cell like me?"

Draco's knuckles clenched around the bar her held as a hesitant look glinted in his eyes. "They need me to bring down Shacklebolt and Potter."

Hermione brow furrowed, did she even know this man? Had he been working for them the entire time? "Draco." Hermione slowly pushed away from the bars rage and embarrassment pricking at her skin.

A scared look washed over Draco's face. "Hermione," he gripped her arm harder not letting move away from him, "it's not like that!" His voice was desperate. "They're blackmailing me with you. Yaxley says that he'll murder you if I don't do exactly as they want."

Hermione's eyes widened. "And you're giving into that!?" she snarled at him, "Fuck my life, Draco! Save every fucking one else! Get the Aurors in here and take them out! If I die, so be it! It's better than the thousands that will die if they come back to power!"

Draco's face hardened. "Do you honestly think it's that easy? Just because it's a Malfoy property doesn't mean I have any fucking clue where it is! You and that fucking Gryffindor zeal think barging in and self sacrifice will fix everything. I got news for you, I won't let you throw yourself on the blade this time." Draco looked over his shoulder, ensuring they were alone. "I'm working on it," he hissed. "Potter knows about Yaxley and Lucius, I legilimencied him and showed him everything I've seen." Draco released her arm and cradled her head in his hand. "I've been trying to get alone with him but fucking Alecto is stalking me everywhere I go."

Relief washed over Hermione, Draco was on their side. "Alecto?"

Draco sighed in frustration. "Yeah, Alecto is taking Polyjuice to impersonate you. She's been hovering over me since..." Draco swallowed, "I left you here." His eyes becoming apologetic.

Hermione cupped his face. "You did what you had to. If you had refused they would have just killed both of us and there would be no one to stop them." Hermione paused for a moment. "Why are they letting you see me?"

Draco grimaced "It's a reward, I made Potter look like a fool at a press conference today." Hermione was about to scold him, when he continued, "but it gave me a chance to use legilimency on him, thank Merlin that Potter is a terrible occlumens." Draco smirked.

Another loud bang startled them. "That's enough, Malfoy!" the raspy voice of Amycus called.

Draco let out a slow breath, and gave Hermione a longing look. "I'll be back. I'll get you out of here," he promised.

Tears started to well up in Hermione's eyes as fear and worry filled her, all she could do was nod fighting back the tears. "Okay," she managed, her voice trembling.

Draco traced her lips with his thumb, his eyes watching his movement, but then they flicked up to meet hers. "I love you."

Hermione's breath hitched, that was the first time he said it, and the impact of the three words in this moment hit her like a ton of bricks. "I love you," she whispered, tears now caressing her cheeks.

"Now, Malfoy!" Amycus roared.

Draco kissed the palm of her hand and let go of her, leaving her to the darkness and his parting words.

* * *

Draco felt a weight lift from him as he declared his love for her, it had been on his heart for a while. He had been waiting for the perfect moment to say it, a moment when he would look into her eyes, see her love for him, and just whisper the words softly as if it were only a secret for the two of them. But this fucking disaster had ruined everything. He was hoping this could redeem himself from his past mistakes, that if he was able to help bring down this rebellion he would be worthy of Hermione. Instead, he landed her in a dungeon because he was fool enough to believe that maybe he could be a good guy. Draco ground his teeth in irritation. _Fuck me_ , he berated himself. _Fuck me for ever thinking I could good do something good._ He probably shouldn't have told her, but he broke when he saw her behind those bars. Everything that he ever thought he was -strong, proud, important- snapped at the sight of her locked in that cell, when there was nothing he could do.

He needed her to know that he loved her more than anything on the face of the planet, that he loved her so much that he was going to put his entire life on the line to get her out of here. He took a deep breath fighting back the trepidation that edged at his mind. Draco had an idea, it wasn't a great one, it wasn't a particularly clever one. There were several unknown factors that would have to land in his favor, but if there was ever Gods, Draco would need them now.

"Hurry up!" Amycus bellowed once again as Draco approached the stairs out of the dungeon.

Draco sneered at the jailer. "You better fucking watch yourself, Amycus," he threatened.

Amycus scoffed. "And what the fuck do you think you're going to do?"

Draco walked passed him and into the long dark hallway out of the dungeon. "Tear your throat out," he breathed to himself.

* * *

Harry looked over the reports that had been sent from the stakeout of the known Malfoy properties, they all came up with nothing, but that was unsurprising. Now that he had Ron checking on the Yaxley estates, he had a gut feeling they weren't far off. Harry looked up at the clock, it was approaching five, and he was rather hoping that Ron would have something before they took off for the day. It had been several hours since the press conference. It was then as if Ron had been reading Harry's mind, Ron burst into Harry's office.

"Mate, I think I got something," Ron's face excited.

Harry pushed up from his desk. "Well, what is it?!" Ron had always wanted to be in the newspapers for catching the latest dark wizards growing up. Once he got in to Auror training however, he found he was much better with the leg work that came with dark wizard hunting.

Ron grinned ear from ear. "So," he laid out some papers on Harry's desk, "I was checking into Yaxley's estates but, as one would imagine, all of them were seized after the war, along with all the family assets being frozen." Ron pointed to some ministry paperwork showing the seizing and freezing of accounts. "But here's where it gets interesting. If, after two years, no one of the direct family comes forth to unfreeze the assets, then the next living kin can petition to take control of them. So then I checked with Gringotts to see if there had been any petitions put in for the Yaxley vaults," Ron gave a frustrated huff, "but you know how the goblins are about their information, after some threats and bribery, I found out that Marcus Flint put in a petition eighteen months ago, and fifteen months ago it was approved."

Ron looked up at Harry, very proud of himself. "Seems like nothing, eh? That's what I thought at first too, just another pureblood getting his hands on dirty money. Except, three months after he acquired the Yaxley vaults, he made a very large, very exact withdrawal of 214,843 galleons. I thought that was rather odd, it almost completely wiped out the vaults, so why not just take the lot of it and be on your way? Well, because he must be buying something, and since brooms don't cost anywhere near that, I figured he must be purchasing an estate. So I checked with one of Sara's realtor friends to see if she could find anything that had been sold in the last year for that price. And, lo and behold, there was a sale of a fifteenth century castle in Scotland that was sold for that price shortly after Marcus took out the gold."

Harry looked over the paperwork that Ron had been showing him. "I mean, it could just be that Marcus wanted a castle."

Ron deflated only slightly. "Could be, but I think it's work a check."

Harry nodded, the good feeling in his belly swelling. "I'll send out a surveillance team for tonight." Harry looked up at Ron. "Good job, mate." Ron gave him a very proud and satisfied grin.

* * *

Draco flicked the butt of his cigarette, it was a dirty habit that he had quit since he was in Germany. Blaise had introduced it to him as a way to calm his nerves. Ever since then he had always had a pack just in case, and, thankfully, he had thought to bring it with him when Alecto was summoned back to the headquarters. He took another long drag, letting the nicotine absorb into his bloodstream as the cool night air prickled at his skin. Draco opened his eyes, he was standing in the gardens, to get away from everyone. He looked up at the moon, to anyone else it looked to be full, but to Draco, he knew this would be his last night before his transformation. His joints and muscles ached, it was going to be a rough transformation. He had been taking his potions up until tonight, but if he hoped to get the job done tomorrow night he needed his wolf as full strength, though the thought of complete loss of control made Draco tremble. He took another deep drag, trying to alleviate his pain and stress with a cigarette, and then bent over and snubbed the ember on the bottom his shoe, discreetly picking up a stick that he had come to find and shoving it in to his robes pocket.

"Draco!" Amycus called, he was on Malfoy watch. "Come on! I'm bloody freezing out here! And Yaxley wants you."

Draco sighed in irritation. Gods, he hoped this plan worked, he hoped that the Amycus would never again complain about the night air. He turned back to the castle and stalked back inside, to the main dining hall where Yaxley spent most of his time. Draco glared at Alecto as he entered the room, she was stirring a large cauldron with what Draco could only assume was Polyjuice. Yaxley called his name, Draco locked his jaw and approached the man. "What?" Draco asked gruffly.

Yaxley smiled. "You've done well, an owl just brought me the evening prophet and your face made front page." Yaxley handed Draco the paper.

 **Minister Incompetent, Says Malfoy Heir.** Draco ground his teeth, everything was falling into place for Yaxley.

"You'll stay here for a few days while we finish the Polyjuice potion. Until then, there is a room upstairs where you will stay, Alecto will escort you." Yaxley gestured towards the doors, but grabbed Draco's arm as he tried to walk off. "And, may I remind you, Draco, that if you try anything, we still have that mudblood in a cell."

Draco narrowed his eyes and tore his arm away, he wanted to say a plethora of vile things to the man. He wanted to tell Yaxley how he planned to rip open his rib cage and tear out his still beating heart, but Draco knew better. Instead he just left the hall to retire to his room for the rest of his stay.

* * *

Harry made it early into the Ministry the next morning. He had been up all night thinking about the stakeout, desperately wanting to pop in and see if they had anything, but ultimately that would blow their cover and that could be disastrous. Instead, he waited eagerly by the apparation point, waiting for Clucks and Ceullar to come back from their post. Harry was deep in thought about the possible plan that he would implement if this turned out to be the headquarters when two pops brought his attention back. Harry stood up looking at the two men expectantly. "So?" he asked.

Ceullar spoke first. "Well, there's something going on there, I did spot Draco and he was being watched by Amycus Carrow, who has been on the run with his sister since the war."

Clucks cut in. "I saw a number of individuals in the windows, not Yaxley himself, but Nott Sr. and Rookwood for sure. So there's at least three there, but we think it may be closer to ten individuals based on the thermals we got.

"Brilliant!" Harry smiled. "I want you two go home and get some rest, I want you back here at 2200."

Harry was bubbling with excitement. After a year of being on the run, it sounded like most of the Death Eaters were held up in the same location, which, if he played his cards right means he should get all of them behind bars. He jogged to Meaghan's desk. "Meaghan, I need you to send out owls to all of the Aurors, ASAP, tell them to rest up today there's going to be an op tonight and to report at 2200. But let Ron, Jamison and Finnigan know that they're leads and I want them here at 2000."

Meaghan nodded. "Do you wanted these encrypted?"

Harry nodded, the more layers of security the better chance of it actually staying under wraps. "Thanks, and if anyone comes in looking for us today, give them the usual."

Meaghan smiled sweetly. "Of course! Now go home and get some rest. I'll hold down the fort."

Harry laughed, gathered his things and went home, and for the first time in a long time he felt hopeful.


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Ahhhh! My loves we are here! I really hope you like this chapter it is the second too the last! My heart! So I hope you like it, I hope it's everything you wanted. I adore you guys, you have been soooo amazing with the reviews and support I can't believe that there are so many followers and favorites! I'm just overwhelmed! Thank you so much I can't tell you how much I appreciate you!**

 **Chapter 33**

Draco had never been terribly good at transfiguration. He passed his lessons just fine, but he was way more talented at potions by far. As he held the two wands together, making sure that they looked exactly the same, he ground his jaw, looking the same was only half of it. Somehow he would need to make the wand feel real. Draco sighed, he wasn't sure how one would go about making magic feel, he could just leave it and hope whoever locks him up is too distracted to notice that the humming of magic was missing but he didn't want to risk his entire plan going up in smoke. This was possibly his last chance to get himself and Hermione out of here. What he wouldn't do to pick that brilliant brain of Hermione's, she would know what spell to use to imitate magic. Fuck, I wish I'd paid closer attention in first year charms. Part of the class was wand lore, if he had been home he could simply pull out his charms book from that year and look it up, but instead he was here. Draco sighed. He tried a vibration charm that a girl in spain had taught him to enhance sensations. The fake wand started to vibrate quickly. Draco frowned, that certainly wasn't going to work, magic felt nothing like that. He sighed, ceased the spell and tried a warming spell next, hoping that maybe he could replicate the tinglingly warmth of magic. He picked up the fake and smirked. It was closer, but it was still just lacking.

Draco tried different charms and spell combinations for an hour before he finally got something that was close to what he had been hoping to achieve. When the fake sat comfortably in his hand with a warm and slight buzzing feel, Draco felt a relief wash over him. He looked at the watch on his wrist and it was nearing five, he was expecting someone would come and gather him soon. He tucked his wand into the waistband of his trousers, making sure the wand was well hidden under his robes and clothing. He picked up the fake and put it in the robes pocket where he was known keep it when he wasn't using it. It wasn't long before the door to his room swung open to reveal a smug-looking Alecto.

"Draco darling, it's time to go to the dungeon." She smiled evilly. "Time to lock you up, lover boy."

Draco growled to himself. Ever since Alecto asserted herself in the Manor foyer she had been far more forward with Draco, thinking that she could treat him like a piece of meat. Draco had been thoroughly irked by it, but had decided that getting angry and yelling at her was only giving in to what she wanted. He instead chose to bite his tongue until he could bite into her, preferably her throat. He strode out of the room with Alecto hot on his heels. As they walked through the main hall, Draco heard his name being called. He reluctantly stopped and turned to see Yaxley casually approaching them.

"Ah Draco, it's that time of the month again," he sneered. "You must feel so," he paused "beastly. I can't imagine what it's like to have that disease running through your veins. Tell me, does it make you feel disgusting?"

Draco took a long breath. He knew Yaxley's game, he was trying to make him feel inferior, put Draco in his place. "It took sometime to get used to," he admitted, "but, like all the rest of the filth and disgust in my life," he flashed his eyes up at Yaxley, "I've adapted."

Yaxley smirked, catching the slight. "Of course. Carry on, Alecto, the dog needs his cage," he sneered. Draco narrowed his eyes, turned and walked away, but before he made it too far Yaxley stopped him again. "Draco," Yaxley drawled, "animals in cages don't need wands," and he held out his hand expectantly.

Draco stopped and prayed to Merlin that the fake was good enough to fool Yaxley. He was sure it would fool Alecto, but Yaxley was far more intelligent than she. Draco pulled the fake from his robes, turned, and handed it to Alecto, looking disgruntled about the exchange.

Yaxley took the fake from him and smiled. "Off you go, wouldn't want you loose tonight." He turned and left Alecto and Draco standing in the hall.\

Draco wanted to sigh in relief but he had to keep up appearance, so instead he balled his fists and anger stomped off to dungeons.

* * *

Hermione heard the door to the dungeon swing open. She listened carefully as two sets of footsteps descended down the stairs in to the long hallway. Perhaps it was a meal being delivered to her instead of just appearing in the corner of her cell, but the footsteps halted at the far end of the hall and she could hear the creaking of a cell door being opened. Did they have another prisoner?! Hermione wondered who it could be, she listened carefully but the conversation seemed muffled. She could tell that there was a female, but the other persons seemed to refuse to speak. Hermione heard the door of the cell close and, after a minute or two, one set of footsteps walked back up the stairs. Hermione waited on baited breath for the dungeon door to close, desperate to know who else had been caught and thrown in to a cell. When the door closed Hermione waited a few moments before cautiously raising her voice. "Hello?" her throat rasped. Hermione swallowed, trying to soothe her scratchy dry throat.

Hermione waited for an answer, but none came. She swallowed again raising her voice louder hoping that they simply hadn't heard her. "Hello?" She called more clearly and loudly again.

Draco appeared suddenly before her. "Shhhh," he whispered slipping a hand between the bars to stifle the yelp that came from her.

Hermione felt the tears rolling down her face. "Draco," she breathed when he took his hand off her mouth. "What are you doing down here?"

He looked over his shoulder down the long hallway and back at Hermione. "It's a full moon," he whispered, "and it's dusk. They locked me down here so I wouldn't hurt anyone."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "How did you get out?!"

Draco flashed a mischievous smile at her. "With my wand," he pushed it through the bars towards her.

Hermione took the wand confusedly. "They let you keep it?" she looked back at Draco, who now had a more somber look on his face.

"No," he breathed, "I gave them a fake I made and hid this in my trousers." His brows knitted together. "But I need you to take it."

Hermione gave Draco a calculating look. "Draco," Hermione voice now suspicious, "what are you planning?"

Draco gave Hermione a pleading look. "I need you to cast warding over your cell," he paused, "there's an anti apparation spell over the house, so if I don't come get you by morning, you need to cast a disillusionment charm and sneak out of here."

"Draco, what are you going to do?" Hermione asked, becoming more alarmed.

Draco took a sharp breath as if he had just been hit in the side. "The fastest way out of here is up the stairs and to the right, there's a door to the kitchens where there's an outside door. Once outsiii.." he cringed again in pain, for a moment, "run straight to the forest and get out of here." Draco now clutched at his sides, he quickly looked up at Hermione, "Tell... them...Everything. Yaxley," his words were becoming more and more labored, "everyone's here." Draco fell to the ground.

Hermione fell to her knees with him. "Draco, whatever you're thinking of doing, don't," Hermione begged.

"Waaarrrdsssss" Draco voice was now low and gravely, sounding more and more like a growling wolf.

Hermione reached out for him, wanting to soothe his pain, but he snarled and snapped at her. Hermione recoiled, falling backwards with his wand still in her hands. "Draco, please," she begged again, but she was only met with more growling. Hermione wiped away rogue a tear and started putting up concealment and silencing charms. She watched as Draco slowly became a wolf again. This time had seemed longer and more painful than the last time she watched him transform, but she couldn't take her eyes off him. Even after he had fully transformed she watched him as he slowly methodically paced out side her cell. She wondered for a long time why the wolf hadn't bounded up the stairs to maul the nearest living being. By all accounts, the wolf should have gone into a frenzy by now.

Hermione skooched closer to the cell bars, closer to the wolf. The wolf seemed to pause for a moment. She wondered if it was her scent that kept him close, but if he could smell her surely he must want to attack her, yet this did not look like a wolf ready to maul her to death. No, if she were to pinpoint the behavior this seemed more like a protective pacing. Was it possible that even Draco's wolf form thought she was a mate, and thus felt the need to defend? Hermione bit her lip, and slowly reached her hand out, but just as she was about to break the charms with her fingers, the sound of the door swinging open again caught the attention of the both of them. Before Hermione had the time to process what was happening the wolf was sprinting down the hall.

* * *

Pacing, pacing, pacing, pacing. He could smell her, her pheromones seeped from these bars, but he couldn't see her, couldn't hear her. Pacing, pacing, pacing, pacing. She was his, she would bear his cubs, he needed to protect her. Pacing, pacing, pacing, pacing, smells. He could smell mildew, lots of it, and stone. Pacing, pacing, pacing, pacing. He could also smell rats, but rats were of no interest to him. He wanted to hunt, he wanted the hot rush of blood over his jowls. Pacing, pacing, pacing, pacing. Wait, her smell, he paused. She was closer now, but he still couldn't see her, still couldn't find her. Pacing, pacing, pacing, pacing. A new sound, a new smell, another female, he could see her.

The smell triggered something in him, a rage the wolf didn't understand, but it filled him. He must sink his teeth into this new female. The wolf ran across the hall at top speed, taking his victim by surprise as she came down the steps. He leaped up on to her and sunk his teeth in to her artery. Blood overwhelmed his senses, feeding instincts overtook him and he ripped into the female. She made no sounds as he took another bite at her throat, soft squishy tissue, and the blood. She would be dead in minutes, the wolf knew. The taste was so fresh, the blood so warm against his tongue, rich, thick blood, and tender soft skin. The wolf had wanted this, and the host too. He slashed into the belly of the female, once he knew she was dead, organs taste the best. He wanted to feast, it had been so long since he last ate.

Wait, new smell. The wolf raised its head from the insides of the female, more, more, he sniffed. Huuummaaannsssss... wolf loped upstairs. He could smell them. He wanted them. He wanted to hunt them down. The rage returned. He was angry, he wanted to kill all of them. Wait, he took a longer sniff, he knew that scent, the fur on his hackles raised. He wanted that male.

* * *

Harry looked over the buzzing office. Twenty Aurors mingled together as they equipped themselves: counter jinx cloaks, shield hats, and muffliato boots, all preparing for the mission. Harry always had mixed feelings just before he went out on missions, the excitement to catch the bad guy, but always an anxiousness. When he was younger, before James, he had played it hard and fast without hesitation, but since the moment that he held his son in his hands for the first time, a worry hung over him. He wanted to be there to watch James grow up, he wanted to meet the baby that Ginny currently carried. So while he wanted to catch the bad guys, he also wanted everyone to come out alive in the end.

Harry trotted up to the group waiting on him, two ward breakers, and two combat Aurors. "Okay, we're apparating in a half klick out. Once I recheck comms, we'll move in closer so Tonus and Travis can disable the wards. McQueary, Gossel, you'll be on rear guard while I take point. Once the wards are down, disillusionment spells then we move in. We're going in through the front doors. McQueary, you're on point, I'll be second. Tonus, Travis, watch the flanks, then Gossel you're coming up the rear. Got it?" The four of them nodded very seriously, "And remember, this is a catch and detain, deadly force is permitted but I'd like all the lot of them to rot in Azkaban before they croak. Any questions?" This time they shook their heads. "Excellent." Harry looked at the room again as it started to fall quiet. "Okay, comm check!" he yelled. Harry started. He double tapped his wand with his finger and spoke his surname, Ron followed, Jamison, and Finnigan, after the leads it moved clockwise around the room as everyone said their last name and confirmed that the they all could hear each other in the modified extendable ears that had been Fred and George's creation. Once the last person said their name, Harry took a long breath as he prepared himself.

"Let's move out," Harry boomed. Harry focused on the coordinates to the castle and, with a flick of his wand, he apparated to his position half a klick from the castle to ensure that their approach would go unheard. Four pops echoed behind him as he arrived in cold dark forest. Harry waited for a moment and began comm check again, counting as he people called their names once again. When all names had been accounted for, Harry turned to the two ward breakers who were talking among themselves. "What does it look like?" He asked them.

"We think it's most likely an anti-apparition and some basic shield warding, I can't detect anything too complicated. We'll know more when we get closer," Tonus informed him.

Harry nodded. "Okay, let's move in then." Harry double tapped his wand. "Move to the perimeter of the property." Four confirmations came over the ear and Harry slowly began to move forward. It only took a few minutes before the castle came in to view from the dense forest that surrounded it. Harry stopped just shy of the forest clearing. Tonus and Travis walked up beside him.

"Okay, it does seem like there is some additional warding, but nothing we've never disabled before," Tonus whispered quietly.

Harry nodded and double tapped his wand. "Hold at perimeter." He waited for the responses before he looked back at the two ward breakers. In front of them, gold lettering and symbols appeared as they started their work. Harry envied ward breaking, it was so intricate and precise, something that Hermione had been good at but Harry himself never was able to get a hang of. It would take several minutes for the breakers to slowly, covertly, pull back the wards.

* * *

Hermione's stomach turned as she heard Draco rip in to the flesh, she couldn't see it, but the horrible gurgling sounds were enough to paint a picture of what was happening at the end of the hallway. She quickly casted a muffliato so she wouldn't have to endure the sickening sounds anymore, but the thought still hung there in her mind. Hermione examined Draco's wand for a long moment. She couldn't just stand here, hiding in a cell, and let Draco get himself murdered. She stood up and transfigured the robes she was wearing in to some fitted black pants and a black jumper. She looked at her bare feet and grimaced. Shoes really were the least of her concerns at this moment. She padded over to the lock, now armed with a wand it was a simple flick of the wrist to release her from the cell. She cautiously peered down the hallway to see that Draco had gone already. Hermione ran to the exit, excited to seeing something besides rough hewn walls. She slowed, however, when the limp form of a person came in to clear view. She locked her jaw and slowly approached the person, her wand trained on them just in case Draco had not finished them off, but as she stepped up to stairs it was clear that no one would be able to survive an attack like that. The sight made Hermione sick, she vomited over the side of the stairs, for as much as she hated Alecto, she didn't think anyone deserved to be mauled to death so horribly.

Hermione placed her hands on her knees, trying hard to regain her composure. She needed to get up the flight of stairs and fight her way out. She took one last deep breath and rose to her full height, gingerly stepping over the woman, being sure not to disturb her or the pool of blood that encircled her. Hermione then ran up the steps, one benefit to not wearing shoes was being able to move quietly. She slowly came to the door that let in to the dungeon. The door was flung open, and the large lavish hallway that the Carrow twins had carried her down before lay just in front of her. Hermione carefully tiptoed to the door and peaked around the corner. Down the hallway to her left she saw Draco smelling the air and pacing slowly away.

Hermione bit her lips, for some reason she felt like Draco wouldn't harm her. He hadn't been defensive until Alecto came downstairs, it was only then that he became vicious; her stomach rolled as she thought of Alecto's maimed body. That was a hunch, however, there was no basis to believe that she would be safe in Draco's presence, so instead she cast a quick disillusionment charm over herself and trotted in the opposite direction of Draco, hoping that she could catch someone by surprise and disarm them.

* * *

The wolf stalked down the long hallway, following the scent that taunted him. He knew he was getting closer, the smell grew stronger and stronger, until he stood outside an ajar door. The smell came from just inside as a flickering flame softly illuminated the room. The wolf readied itself, excited to sink its teeth in to its victim. The wolf knew this was about revenge, the anger and hatred for the host reverberated in every thought his host had. The hate was so intense that it overrode the instincts of the wolf. All the wolf knew was he wanted to kill this man. He pushed open the door with his snout and strode in.

The man turned, clearly curious as to who was not only awake at this time of night but who was disturbing him. His eyes landed on the wolf and the smell of terror came pouring from his pores. The wolf relished the scent, his host reveled in it. The wolf gave out a low menacing growl and stalked towards his prey, the man stumbled back terrified of the beast.

"Dr-dra-aco, come now," the Lucius voice trembled.

The host snarled at his sire, the wolf losing control of his body.

Lucius fumbled for his wand, fear thwarting his attempts to grab the thing and cast a spell to subdue the beast.

The wolf jumped up on to the table and leapt at the man, it wasn't sure what the wands were, but it understood what they did.

Lucius fell to the ground, but his hand finally grasped around the wand that had been tangled up in his robe pocket. He withdrew it and threw a stupfey at the lunging wolf, but nothing happened. The wolf landed just short of his waist, pushing Lucius backwards into the floor where he sprawled out hopelessly vulnerable. "Draco! Please, no! I am your father!" he begged as his hand went reflexively to his face.

The wolf stood over the terrified man, he could hear his heart racing, smell the panic on his skin, but the host stopped the wolf from devouring the man. The wolf struggled for control, he just wanted to rip in to the prey and eviscerate him.

Lucius looked back up at the wolf wondering if his begging had actually been effective. "Draco, please, I only meant well, with me to mold and guide you, you will become the most powerful wizard to ever live."

Rage welled up in the host and spilled over to the wolf as the man bargained for mercy, but the hesitation gave the man an opening. The wolf was blasted sideways flying across the room slamming in to the wall. At this point, the host had been pushed out and only instincts to kill erupted in the wolf's head. The wolf leapt back to its feet, bounding again across the room at the man trying to escape. He narrowly missed as the man whipped around the table that he had been standing behind. The wolf lost grip on the wood floors and slammed into the wall again, this time books fell from their shelves, showering the wolf as it tried to get control again. The wolf leaped forward as the man ran the length of the room to escape the wolf, throwing lights over his shoulder that missed by a long shot. The wolf ran forward only to be greeted by a large chair that had flung itself across the room to hit the wolf's broadside. The wolf found himself pinned between the wall and the piece of furniture, agitated more than ever. It watched as the man slipped through the doorway, and heard him yelling at the top of his lungs, drawing others out.

The wolf got to its feet and chased the man out of the room, flashes of green and red lights bombarded him as he skidded out into the hallway. There were two other men now, trying to fend off the wolf and, while some of the lights did hit him, he was unfazed by them. Some of them did sting, and the greens ones seemed to stiffen his body for a brief moment.

Lucius started to back away. Even with multiple wizards attacking him, Draco seemed undaunted by the spells, and Lucius knew in his guts that Draco was coming after him. He spun on his heel and ran down the hallway, putting as much distance between him and Draco as he could manage. It was only the flight instinct that consumed him now.

The wolf saw the man back away and run from him, the foolish being thought he would out run a werewolf. The wolf blew past the other men and tore after the man he was going to sink his teeth into. It didn't take long for the wolf to catch up to the man, he lunged forward and grabbed the man's legs from under him. The man crashed down on to the floor and rolled over just in time for the wolf to leap again, this time landing squarely above him.

There was no hesitation this time, the wolf went straight for the jugular. He felt the man struggle beneath him, hitting him, ripping at his skin and fur, but the wolf held tight, crushing the man throat beneath him. The man struggled only for a moment more before he fell limp in the wolf jaws. Blood seeped everywhere, and the wolf could feel the man's pulse weakening on his tongue. It was then that the host came back, a triumphant horror filled the wolf's mind.

The wolf let go and the man fell to the floor, a pool of blood turning the white floor crimson. The wolf smelled someone else enter at the end of the hallway. He looked up to find several more men armed with wands trained on him. The host, however, told the wolf that these men were of no interest to him. The wolf eyed them skeptically, and instead started tearing at the fresh hot flesh in front of him.

* * *

Hermione came to a large archway at the far end of the hall. She peeked around corner again to find an empty gallery. Was it possible that all the Death Eaters were asleep upstairs? Hermione looked over her shoulder, she was sure there was a staircase behind her, but that also happened to be where she had last seen Draco. Not wanting to end up with Alecto's fate, she proceeded into the empty gallery hoping she would find a servant's staircase. She followed along the walls, checking the doors every time she came across one, but the place was just deserted. She held her breath as she again stopped in front a large passage way with a glow coming from it, hoping at last this would be the way to a second staircase. She tentatively poked her head around the corner. At first she thought she saw nothing but more empty rooms, but surprise took her when suddenly she felt a hand grab at her arm and figures started moving around her. She was pulled forward towards the disguised figures and wrapped into a tight hug.

"'Mione," Ron's voice whispered softly in her ear.

Hermione's earth shattered, her best friends were here to save her. She wrapped her arms around Ron's disillusioned body and hugged him for what felt like an eternity, it had been a long time since she felt that safe and the relief that washed over her was overwhelming.

Ron broke away from her, Hermione could hear him giving orders, but she was so relieved to see him she hadn't much paid attention to what he was saying. It wasn't until someone else stepped up to her and tried to escort her away that she realized what was going on. "Ron," she hissed, "I'm going to fight. I want to take these arseholes out!"

Ron's voice was stern for being Ron. "Mione, you're emaciated, dehydrated and weak, I can't let you fight. You'll be a liability. Boot and Benson are going to get you out of here and to Mungo's."

Before Hermione could get a word in edgewise, Terry Boot had come up grabbed her arm and was pulling her down the hallway. "Wait, Ron," she hissed. Ron turned around and gave her a very frustrated look, probably assuming that she was about to put up a big fight about staying. "It's Draco, he's loose and a werewolf. Be careful." Ron muttered something to himself before turning back around and proceeding down the gallery which Hermione just came.

Hermione followed Boot and Benson through the large room that the team had just cleared, it looked like a solarium that led out to the castle grounds. Hermione was sure that this would have been a beautiful room if it hadn't been that she was fleeing from her captors. Once outside, they dashed to the safe cover of the dense forest.

"Okay, Hermione, I'm going to apparate you to Mungo's," Terry held out his hand

Hermione had half mind to apparate herself, but she thought better. She had been sitting in a dungeon for Merlin knows how long and, now that she was actually thinking about it, she wasn't sure how she had made it this far. She looked down, her hands and arms looked sickly in the moonlight and she could only imagine what the rest of her looked like. She took Terry's hand and apparated away. The uncomfortable squeeze and tug of apparition aggravated her already frail state. When they popped into the Mungo's emergency room, Hermione would have collapsed on the floor if not for Terry who managed to catch her before she hit the ground. Hermione heard people rushing over to her. Suddenly she was being picked up and laid down. She felt the movement under her but she couldn't see what was going on around, her vision was blurred and all the voices around her muffled. It was

* * *

Harry watched in horror as Draco tore into his father's flesh, but the shock didn't last long as spells were now being launched in his direction. Harry looked up and two Death Eaters were throwing spells as they began to run in the opposite direction. Harry started flinging stupefy's and expilliarmus spells to stop their retreat. One of the curses the death eaters threw missed the Aurors but hit Draco squarely. The wolf snapped around and started bounding towards the other wizards. Harry was unsure what to do. Every advantage he could take he would, but there was no guarantee that the wolf wouldn't turn on them and attack the Aurors.

He was given very little time to think about this, however, because more Death Eaters came flooding down the staircase in front of them and a massive battle broke out. Harry was wildly casting before his eye stopped on Yaxley.

"Mr. Potter!" Yaxley bellowed over the explosions and bangs surrounding them. "Welcome to my abode! How splendid to be in presence of the Boy Who Lived once again."

A bust erupted next to Harry and he looked over his shoulder. More Aurors were pouring in to the room. He saw Ron and his team enter on the far side blocking off the retreating death eaters. Jamison and his team came in through a side door, catching the death eaters off guard. He had yet to see Finnegan's team yet. "I'm just offended you didn't have us sooner," Harry taunted back. "We love to party just as much as the next wizard." Harry threw an expelliarmus but Yaxley easily deflected it, throwing something back at Harry that bounced off his shield charm.

"Ah, well, you see, my parties are very exclusive," Yaxley retorted. "We only allow the best and most pure among our ranks." Yaxley cast another spell, this time catching Harry off guard, slightly ripping in to his arm.

Thankfully, the anti-curse cloak dampened to blow. Without it, Harry imagined his arm would have been shredded. Harry stepped closer, trying to stupefy Yaxley. "You consider the like of the Carrow twins high brow?! Your standards must be desperately low."

Yaxley easily deflected the stupefy again. "This coming from the wizard using school age spells to disarm dark wizards?!" Yaxley chortled back.

Harry knew he was right. He was going to need stronger spells to stop him, but luring opponents in to a false sense of security was kind of Harry's forte. Harry straightened up. "Just testing the waters, Yaxley. See, more often than not, "great dark wizards" can be taken out with school level spells. Seems to be a common theme among you, thinking yourselves far better than you really are." This time, Harry cast a confringo curse that blew Yaxley back, tossing him into another pedestal. Harry closed the distance, but Yaxley was quick, he sent another spell at Harry that whizzed past his ear, barely missing him. Harry shot an immobulus charm that missed Yaxley by a fraction of a second as he rolled out of the way. Yaxley scrambled to his feet, tossing another unknown spell at Harry that managed to hit him in the shoulder this time, but whatever it was, it was absorbed by the cloak again. Harry and Yaxley continued like this for several minutes throwing spells, jinxes, and curses at one another, trying to force the other one to yield.

Harry had been keeping an eye on his fellow Aurors too. He saw Ron and Cluck take out Dolohov with a series of jinxes that had managed to rip him up in the air with by his ankles. Jamison, Arnet and Thompson bested Rookwood in a three to one duel that overwhelmed Rookwood. Harry looked around trying to find Nott when a Yaxley surprised him with a confirgro that blasted him backwards, slamming him into the ground. As he stood up, he saw two of the Aurors standing over Nott who seemed to be unconscious. Harry turned back to Yaxley with a smile on his face. One by one, the death eaters succumbed to the two to one ratio that Harry had brought. "Come on, Yaxley," Harry drawled, panting slightly. "Give up, I have your people detained."

Yaxley looked up around him and a look of shock crossed his face. He was looking far more haggard than Harry. Harry had managed to blow him back a few times and draw blood more than once. Apparently Yaxley was so caught up in their duel, however, that he had not noticed that his allies had slowly given in to the relentless pressure of the Aurors. Five men lay through out the room immobilized, stunned and muffliatoed with Auror wands trained on them, daring them to move. Five of the other Aurors stood in a circle around Harry and Yaxley waiting for the off chance that Harry failed, ready to blow Yaxley into the next century. The other six had headed upstairs to help Finnegan's team clear the upper level.

"Give up, Yaxley, the only place you'll be heading is to Azkaban." Harry threw a final expelliarmus and Yaxley's wand sprang up into the air and flung itself in to Harry's hand. Yaxley growled low as he slowly knelt to his knees and surrendered. Harry quickly cast a binding and stunning spell to further incapacitate the death eater. Harry let out a long sigh as victory washed over him. It was then that the rest of the Aurors came trotting down the steps, happily, with three more immobilized and stunned death eaters floating behind them.

"Upper levels clear, Sir." Finnigan, smiled. "Didn't think it'd be tha' easy."

Harry nodded. He had hoped it would be easy, but had honestly expected the worst; death eaters could be ruthless, though with a loose werewolf, Harry expected that they caught them severely off guard. "Wait, where's the werewolf?!" Harry exclaimed, now realizing that he hadn't seen or heard the beast in several minutes.

"Well, he managed to take a few bites out of Amycus here," Ron piped up, kneeling over Amycus repairing the torn flesh, "before Nott shot him with something, dunno what it was, but it knocked him back against the wall over there and he's been out since."

Harry looked over and, sure enough, Draco's werewolf was sprawled out further down the hall. Harry jogged closer, keeping his wand on the beast just in case, but the creature didn't move even as three other Aurors joined him. "Okay, lets immobilize him and get him to Mungo's. He may have some severe damage we don't know about yet." Harry counted off and he and the three other wizards cast a simultaneous immobulus, and the beast went rigid and remained still.

Harry turned to the room of Aurors. "Okay, Tonus and Travis, I want you to drop the anti-apparition shield. Finnigan, Ron, I want your teams to stay, recon anything you can find here that may be interesting. Jamison, our teams are going to take the prisoners to Azkaban. I'm going to take Draco back to Mungo's werewolf chamber."

The room started to bustle again as the prisoners were moved and the Aurors started on their various tasks. Ron, however, jogged up to Harry. "Mate, can I help take back Malfoy? I want to check on Hermione while we're there."

Harry screwed up his face. "Hermione's at Mungo's?"

"Yeah, that's how I knew about Draco being a werewolf, we found her as we were coming in through the solarium." Ron nodded.

Harry looked over at Jamison, "Jamison, head up recon, Ron's going to come with me." As soon as the ward lifted, Harry and Ron disapparated the stiff wolf body away from the Castle.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: We are finally here! Last chapter of this fic, I just wanted to thank everyone who has left reviews, favorited, and followed this story. I am unbelievably grateful for you. When I first started writing this it was never supposed to leave the confines of my personal files, but when I did post it I was shocked that you guys liked it, and were leaving such positive reviews! So honestly, truly, and deeply thank you. I never thought I would write something worth reading, but you guys gave me the confidence to keep writing.**

 **Love, MommaBadger**

 **Chapter 34**

Hermione's eyes fluttered open, but she was blinded by the blaring lights of the room, her body had become accustomed to the dark cell. She shielded her eyes and looked around. Sure enough, she was laying in crisp white sheets in a bland hospital room and she had never been more grateful for the the sterile, uncaring feel of a hospital.

"There you are."

Hermione looked over and there, sitting next to her bed, were her boys. Tears of relief rolled down her cheeks as she slowly sat up and Ron leaned over the bed to give her a hug. She cried into his shoulder, as if she were letting the loneliness of the dungeon cell spill from her tear ducts. "Thank you," she murmured into his Auror's cloak. Harry came to sit on the opposite side of Ron and rubbed her back soothingly.

Hermione slowly let go of Ron and smiled at Harry, who then leaned over to embrace her. Harry embraced her tightly, as if he had no intentions of letting her ago again, and she melted. All the fear, the uncertainty, fell from her as if she had released a load of bricks from her back. They held each other for what seemed like an eternity. More than anything in the world, she needed this, she needed him. Harry had always been her rock, her safe place, in a world that had been anything but stable and, in this moment, he stabilized her. She took another long deep breath to anchor herself some more. She gently let go and looked between the two men, overwhelmed in her love for the both of them. They came through for her, as they always did, as she knew they would, but she couldn't express how much she appreciated them. "I take it the mission went well?" She asked this same question every time they got back from hunting a dark wizard.

Harry chuckled. "Yep," he smiled, "got all the bad guys." Harry always answered on some variation of getting the bad guy(s).

Hermione smiled at him, but her smile fell slowly. "And Draco?" her brows knitting together.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look that made Hermione's heart clench. "He's here," Harry drew out. "He's still unconscious, however. Whatever Nott hit him with was fairly damaging." Harry paused again. "The healers have been working on him and he's improving, physically, but he's still not awake."

Hermione clenched her sheets. "What happened?" Though she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Well," Harry was choosing his words meticulously, "somehow he made it out of his cell."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, he gave them a fake wand, let himself out, and then gave me his wand to escape."

Ron narrowed his eyes slightly. "So he's the reason I found you running around the castle, barefoot and starved?"

Hermione gave Ron a irritated look. "No, he wanted me to stay until morning, after he had..." she trailed off. Hermione knew there was no way she could phrase Draco's intentions in a good light, he wanted to murder everyone in that castle.

Harry cut in, understanding her hesitation. "He did manage to tear in to Alecto and Lucius, we found them shredded to pieces. The odd thing, however, is that he didn't go after any of us. My team walked in on him feasting on Lucius, we all had our wands on him ready to knock him out, but instead he just looked at me, and continued on Lucius. It wasn't until someone else hit him that he went on a rampage, and even then he only went after the Death Eaters. Nott hit him hard with something as he attacked Amyus."

Hermione was shocked, it had never been documented that werewolves choose their prey. Every time there was an attack, it was thought that it was bad luck, bad timing. This would have to be something that she looked in to when she went back to work. "Can I see him?"

Harry gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm not sure you're strong enough to walk, the healers have said you are severely emaciated, dehydrated and weak. They were surprised you made it out of the dungeon."

Hermione gave Harry a pleading look. "Please, Harry."

Harry sighed. "I'll see if I can find a wheelchair." Harry, smiling at her softly, stood up, kissed her sweetly on the forehead and left.

"Mione," Ron looked worried as she directed her attention back to him, "you scared the bloody shit out of us."

Hermione smirked. "Well, being kidnapped was not really something I wanted to do, to be fair."

Ron, however, was not having it. "Look, I know you really like Malfoy and, to be honest, the bastard is sorta growing on me, but after everything, are you still sure that you want to be with him? I mean, if you two hadn't been together, none of this would have happened."

Hermione took a deep breath, she knew he was coming from a place of good intentions and that Ron only wanted the best for her. "Well, Ron," she spoke softly "if I was so concerned about not being in danger, I would have stopped hanging out with you first year when you both insisted that we go after the stone." She smiled softly reaching out for his hand. "I love both you and Harry and, because of that, I faced the most terrifying things in my life." She sought out his eyes as he tried to shy away from her. "But we made it out, and I made it out. You can't run from things just because they're dangerous." He looked back at her, a meek smile on his face. "You know that." Hermione rubbed the back of Ron's hand with her thumb. "I love him, Ron."

Ron took a sharp breath, and stared at her for a long moment. "Okay," he whispered softly.

It was then that Harry returned with a wheelchair in hand. "Healers aren't fond of the idea, but I told them that they'd have to tell you that and they quickly backed down." Harry chuckled. He wheeled the chair over to Hermione's bedside and, with some help from Ron, lowered her down into the chair. Harry rolled out of the room and was walked down the hallway when Ron stopped just outside Hermione's door.

"I actually think I'm going to head back to office now. They need help sorting through all the stuff we got from the castle." Ron shuffled his feet awkwardly.

Harry looked like he wanted to say something but must have decided better. "Okay, mate, see you later then," he said casually.

Ron caught up gave Hermione peck on the cheek and then walked off. Hermione grimaced as she watched him walk away.

"Don't worry, he'll get used to it," Harry leaned over as he started pushing her to Draco's room.

Hermione sighed heavily. "I know, I was just hoping it would be sooner rather than later. At this point, our kids will be on their way to Hogwarts before he's used to it."

Harry chuckled. "He's doing the best he can, Hermione. He did love you deeply when you two were together and to see you with someone else is a blow already. The fact that it's Malfoy knocked the wind out of him."

Hermione rolled her eyes, she knew Harry was right. It was a just a few months ago that she was hurt over Ron's engagement, and that was to a girl she actually quite liked. "Which is why I'm not pushing it, but it's frustrating still."

Harry chuckled. "And if that were the only frustrating thing in our lives we would all be much happier, but there are bigger things. He'll come around," he encouraged.

Hermione nodded slightly, knowing that Harry was right. On the list of things to be upset about that one was at the end of it. Harry stopped in front of a door, opened it, and pushed her through. Draco lay on the bed, looking rather beat up, he must have take a few spells in his werewolf form.

Harry wheeled her up to Draco's bedside and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I'll leave you here, the healers will take you back when you're ready." He gave her small kiss on the cheek and left her there to sit with Draco.

Once she heard the door close, Hermione leaned forward and laid one of her arms on his bed, cradling her head in the crook of her elbow while her other hand reached for his. She rubbed her thumb on the back of his hand slowly and methodically. She just watched him for a long time, listening to the bustle of the hospital outside his door. He looked so peaceful in his unconscious state, as if he were just deeply sleeping. She wondered what Nott had hit him with, she wondered when he would wake up, if he would be mad, she lost in thought when he began to come to.

* * *

Draco cringed, his body was aching all over. He normally felt like shit after his transformations, but this was on a whole new level. He clenched his fists in pain only to realize that someone's hand lay in his. He begrudgingly opened his eyes, his vision was blurred for a long moment. When his eyes focused, a mass of curly hair was leaning on to his bed and a soft warm smile greeted him. Draco's heart burst. He had never seen anything so wonderfully beautiful in his life than the woman that sat by his bedside. He could feel small tears of relief and happiness welling up in his eyes.

Hermione shushed as she slowly lifted herself up, carefully sitting herself on the bed to lean into him. "Now, now," she whispered sweetly into his ear, wrapping her arms around him.

Draco shuddered at the feeling of her body pressed closely to his. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face into the crook of her neck, letting out a shaking breath as he released the anxiety and worry that he had been carrying since he saw her tied to a pole. He felt the tears run down his cheek, he had never felt this vulnerable in his life, he always had wall to protect his heart, but that came tumbling down at the sight of her smile. Never had someone made him feel so weak, so defenseless, and yet so unbelievably strong and resilient. She could break him, Draco knew it in his soul, but he knew that she would protect that with everything she was, and in return, Draco would protect her. This is what Ginny meant. Draco hugged her tighter, never wanting to let her go, even though his body screamed in pain at the immense amount of pressure that he applying to his wounds, but he didn't care. Right now, he was healing his soul.

Hermione slowly stroked the back of his head as he crushed her against his frame. "I'm okay, it's okay, we made it out."

Draco slackened his grip and kissed her neck. "I'm so fucking sorry." He lifted his head to rest his forehead on hers.

"Draco," she sang softly, "this wasn't your fault."

Draco took a sharp breath. "If you hadn't gotten involved with me, then you would never have been in that cell."

Hermione pulled his chin up to look her in the eyes. "I also would have never loved anyone this deeply," she whispered under her breath.

Draco's breath hitched for a moment before he leaned in to kiss her. Their life may not always be perfect. He was certain that they would meet adversity, whether it be because of his past or her fame. People would always look at him and wonder why she was with him, how a war heroine could hitch herself to the villain, and he knew that would be hard to swallow. This moment, this feeling, however, was worth it, to be with her, to have her love and trust would empower him through the dirty looks and whispers. With her, Draco could do anything he ever wanted.

Draco let go of the kiss first and leaned back to see her fully. "I love you, Hermione Granger."

Hermione smirked at him. "I love you, Draco Malfoy."

"Marry me." The words were already out of his mouth before he realized what he had said. It was true, he wanted to marry her, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but asking so soon after such a traumatizing experience was probably not the time to ask.

Hermione didn't flinch, however. Her smirk turned into a tender smile. "If you insist."

Draco leaned forward and dragged her on to his lap, pressing her in to him firmly, then kissed her on top of the head. He didn't think that they would start the wedding planning tomorrow. Hell, he hadn't even chosen the ring, but the fact that she had accepted without hesitation was enough for him. They would figure out the details later. Right now, it was just him and her, and nothing had ever felt so right in his life.

* * *

They remained quietly engaged for the better part of a year. She wore no ring, they made no announcements, and wrote no betrothal agreements. They felt that they needed none of that, the promise that they would do it in their own time, in their own way, was enough. It wasn't much different than dating really, but they both knew, at some point, that they would marry one and another, and that was all the assurances they needed.

Hermione returned to work shortly after her release from the hospital, that Draco did take issue with, but he knew there would be no telling her otherwise. So instead he also took a job at the ministry. That way, if she ever needed him, he would be there. It also gave him a purpose. He had applied for a position in the international trading department, seeing as he had already had experience with international dealings anyways, but found that he was far more intrigued with magical law and rather excelled at it. It also meant that he saw a lot of Hermione, which, for the most part, he considered an advantage. It was only when they disagreed about how laws were interpreted, or how they should be changed that he found himself regretting working with someone he so deeply cared for. It never, however, spilled into their personal life. Draco had always been very gifted at compartmentalizing his life and Hermione was getting better at it with each day.

It was just after the fifth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts that they decided to make it official. Instead of throwing a huge elaborate wedding that was traditional of pureblood society, they packed up their closest friends and family, took them to the chateau in France, because it was Hermione's favorite, and had a small intimate wedding just with those whom they loved.

"Well, Mrs. Malfoy, is this everything you ever wanted?" Draco asked her as the danced together to the string quartet.

Hermione hummed for a moment, as if racking her brain for anything else she may want. "I think so, Mr. Malfoy," she said softly after a moment.

Draco nodded. "I would do anything for you, Mrs. Malfoy, so never be afraid to ask."

Hermione smiled devilishly up at him. "I would never dream of it."

Draco chuckled as she lay her head against his chest and they swayed back and forth to soft sweet music.

The End


End file.
